A few years ago, Forest Lake senior Norah Hushagen heard the doubters and felt the pressure.

Sure, you've been successful because you're small in stature. Just wait until you get older.

Silencing critics once again, Hushagen repeated as the Class 3A individual state champion and took home the Star Tribune's Girls Cross-Country Runner of the Year Award for a second consecutive year.

"She doesn't make excuses," said her mother, Bonnie. "She trains hard every day. She does the workouts 110%. Fun workouts to her are the hard workouts."

It showed at the state meet. One year after near disaster because of slippery conditions on the 5,000-meter course at the University of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Golf Course, Hushagen kept her footing to win in a time of 17 minutes, 32.3 seconds — exactly 16 seconds ahead of second-place runner Maddie Gullickson of Wayzata (17:48.3).

Hushagen ran with a reminder on her left forearm, "Not I, but through Christ in me." The focus helped her stave off complacency. "There were more challenges this year," she said. "I knew winning wasn't a given. Just because you did it once, that doesn't mean you will automatically do it again. You still have to show up for the race."

Anthony Souffle, The Minnesota Star Tribune
No other runner was visible when Forest Lake's Norah Hushagen finished the Class 3A race in 2023, even though she fell on the course.

Hushagen kept showing up throughout the fall season. She won all eight Minnesota high school races she entered, from the St. Olaf H.S. Showcase in August to the Class 3A meet in November

She gave Rangers fans something special by setting a personal-best time of 17:04.10 to win the Suburban East Conference meet Oct. 15 at nearby Tanners Brook Golf Club. Hushagen is undecided on her college plans.

Former Gophers women's cross-country coach Gary Wilson once said it sometimes takes two years for a growing runner's muscles and lungs to learn to power more mass. Hushagen kept the faith that she would finish her career with a flourish.

Junior season was an important step — even though unsure footing resulted in her wiping out at the 2,000-meter mark of the Class 3A meet. She could hear her doubters as she rose from the grass to win by more than 30 seconds, setting the tone for her triumphant final chapter.

She became the first Forest Lake individual champion since Kim Kauls in 1986. Then she repeated.

"I kind of took that as, 'Oh, yeah?' " Hushagen said of her doubters. "'Watch me later.'"