By Wendi Reardon Price
Staff Writer
wprice@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — Sophie Novak came home from the 2023 U.S. Olympic Trials and a vacation in Washington to welcome home signs, July 5.
“It was really cute and I appreciated it,” said Novak. “I did not know it was going to happen. My dad was just really excited. I saw the signs so it was very nice.”
Novak, a 2021 Lake Orion High School graduate and senior at the University of Notre Dame, ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase during the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon. She finished in 17th place in the first round with a time of 9:49.55 on June 24.
“It was the coolest thing ever,” said Novak about the experience. “It was really nice because I had some teammates who were also competing there for the 10 days we were there. It was just so awesome to share that with them and my coach. He has been there for me these past three years so it was awesome.”
The trials were held at Hayward Field, a stadium Novak knows from competing in the NCAA Division 1 Track & Field Outdoor Championships.
“It’s an amazing stadium,” Novak said. “I already had the experience of racing in that stadium and knowing what that it would feel like. We got there on one of the first days just to watch. The stadium was just packed with people. It was so loud for all of these races that we were watching. It was definitely very intimidating at first because it was so much more packed than nationals. I thought nationals there were so many people there but this was more – all the stands were full. It was just insane.”
After spending a few days in that environment, Novak was a lot more calm when it was her time to race.
“It was just so neat,” she said. “I didn’t make it to the final, but in my race I was next to the girl who came in second through the whole race. She’s going to be an Olympian. I was fangirling over these people. It was just insane, but awesome.”
To qualify for the Olympic trials in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Novak had to run under the time of 9:41. She made it during her last race of the season – the 2023 NCAA Division 1 Track & Field Championships with a seventh place finish in the time of 9:40.54.
“The way I viewed it it was just a testament to how much I have grown this year,” Novak said. “If I had been on that line last year, I would have been freaking out – omygosh these people are so much more faster than me. But this year I earned my spot and now I get to race with fast people because because I am also fast and deserve to be here. It was definitely a reward at the end of a very hard-working season.”
She added she wasn’t nervous when she was on the line because she was excited to be there and have the experience. Plus, she knew she had a big support system in Lake Orion as she was getting text messages wishing her luck and they would be watching her compete.
“It was just awesome and even like after the race like the next few days. I watched and met some people around,” Novak said. “It was so cool and just being an amateur where so many people care about the same thing as you. One of my teammates made it to the final for steeplechase. It was really cool to see her race and cheer her on. I keep saying awesome and super fun, but that’s really what it was – it was just super cool.”
Novak finished her junior year at the University of Notre Dame as First Team All-American for her seventh place finish in the outdoor championship and also Atlantic Coast Conference League Champion for steeplechase. She finished second in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championship in the distance medley relay and first in the conference with her teammates; and fourth place in the cross country finals.
Novak shared her junior year was very pivotal for her. Her sophomore year ended with her not making it to nationals for the steeplechase.
She set more goals for her junior year but found her fall semester was a struggle.
“I was mentally having a hard time,” Novak explained. “It was like my self confidence was really low when it came to racing and training. Nothing was clicking. My races were not going well. I was putting so much pressure on everything I was doing when it came to training, eating and sleeping. It just wasn’t sustainable.
“I kind of forgot my love for the sport and why I do it,” she continued. “I was setting all these goals, and I would get so upset if I didn’t hit them the way I wanted to. It was almost becoming a job to race and job to train. I worked to change it to I love running. I love running because I love the competition, I love racing. I love testing my abilities and being with my teammates because I love my team so much. They’re so awesome. And knowing I can still be serious, but I can have fun with it, too. It was something I forgot as I was getting more competitive in the sport.”
She added remembering her fundamental reasoning for why she competes was important especially on days workouts weren’t as strong as it could have been.
“So working on hitting the paces, as best as I could,” she said. “Also, doing the core and doing all the little things. If I didn’t get top it’s okay, things happen. I could just focus on just having fun and racing because at the end of the day it really is fun to test yourself. The shift in mindset was a big difference.”
The shift in mindset helped and halfway through the cross country season it turned around.
“Because of that, I was able to help contribute our team to finish fourth at cross country nationals,” Novak said. “Then, I just kept carrying that momentum through the indoor and I’m more of a track person so I was really excited to start running around in circles.”
She added her advice is to have fun with the process.
“When you’re training or working towards a goal, and getting fixated on the outcome it kind of causes a lot of stress, because if you think you’re not hitting the stepping stones to get to the main goal,” she said. “The biggest thing was really just having fun with it, and really doing the work in every day because all of that is going to snowball into hitting your goals and getting your success.”
Novak shared she is excited for her senior year at Notre Dame.
“It was a really great year for me and I’m excited to keep that momentum going for my senior year,” Novak said. “I am also just happy to be home for the rest of the summer, hanging out with my family and have a break from school before I go back.”