ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- Justus Floren, Peyton Selle and Jenna Kalevik have competed against each other in the pentathlon and heptathlon for four years now, establishing themselves as the top three multi-event athletes in the MIAC.

During that time, a bond has been formed.

"The multi-events are different because you're always at the same meets cheering each other on," said Floren, a College of Saint Benedict senior and Sauk Rapids High School graduate who first got to know Kalevik and Selle – who compete for Concordia – when she was beginning as a heptathlete during her first season with the Bennies in 2022.

"You get to know each other pretty well and we've become really good friends. We check in with each other during the summer and after big accomplishments. My dad and Jenna's parents have become close just from seeing each other every meet. Her mom and dad will come up and wish me well.

"I love both of those girls," she continued. "And I think going against each other these last four years has helped us all become the best athletes we can be."
That was apparent at the conference championships May 1-2 when Kalevik finished first in the heptathlon with a score of 4,489, Floren second with 4,451 and Selle third with 4,442.

But going into the final event of an NCAA last-chance qualifier in the heptathlon Wednesday afternoon in Collegeville, each found themselves in a different spot.

Selle, a fifth-year senior for the Cobbers, stood a good shot of catapulting herself into the top 22 in the Division III national rankings, which would earn her a berth in the NCAA outdoor national meet May 22-24 in Geneva, Ohio.

To do it, though, Concordia multi-event coach Garrick Larson estimated she needed to run the 800 – the heptathlon's final event – in a time of 2:32 or better.
Meanwhile, Kalevik, her senior teammate, was simply trying to will her way through to the finish, having severely pulled her left hamstring while competing in the long jump earlier in the day.

She'd taken a golf cart to get from long jump to the javelin and hobbled to the starting line of the 800 with her hamstring wrapped snugly.

"It happened during my takeoff," Kalevik said. "My foot barely missed the board and my leg hyperextended. I landed on my knees and I didn't feel a pull or a snap, so I didn't think it was that bad at first. Then I got up and tried to walk and I knew my chances of qualifying for nationals were over.

"It was a gut-wrenching feeling and I was close to tears because I've put so much time and effort into this over the past four years. But I remembered back to my freshman year when I was last in a heptathlon and I wanted to quit during the 800. My coach told me that's not who we are as Cobbers. We finish what we start. And if this was going to be my last meet, I wanted to embody that."

Then there was Floren, whose own chances at the national meet had become a longshot at best. But she was still in position to end her college career with a personal record and continue moving up the CSB record board.

That, though, wasn't what she was thinking about as she waited for the gun to sound in the 800. She was focused on what she could do to help Selle and Kalevik reach their goals.

"Before the race started, Justus came up and asked me what I needed to run," Selle said. "I told her and she said she was going to push me to help make it happen."

That's exactly what Floren did for the first 500 meters, soaring with Selle to the front of the pack and helping her push the pace to reach the time she was aiming for.

"She was with me side-by-side," Selle said. "Offering encouragement and telling me 'You got this.' I was thinking to myself how crazy it was that this girl can be running so fast and still be able to talk to me at the same time."

At the 500-meter mark, however, the chatter ceased. Floren slowed down, then turned her head back to see Kalevik pushing through the pain far behind the other runners.

"I was cheering her on, and I saw her just look at me," said CSB head coach Robin Balder-Lanoue, with whom Floren had discussed the possibility of finding a way to assist Kalevik beforehand.

"That's when I knew what she was about to do."

Floren began running backward toward Kalevik, stopping when she reached her and running the final lap by her side.

"At first, I thought, 'Justus, what are you doing? You're going the wrong way,'" said Kalevik, a Rogers High School graduate who hopes to pursue a career in physical therapy. "I was a little out of it, but I remember telling her she didn't have to do this. She could still get a PR. But she told me how much she'd loved competing against me these past four years and she wanted to be there with me now.

"That was such a selfless sacrifice on her part. It made me feel extremely supported. I got really emotional, and I remember blurting out 'Can we stay friends after track!' She said 'Of course.' That really provided me the lift I needed."

Up front, Selle had finished the race in a time of 2:30.76 – helping her finish second overall with a score of 4,638, behind only Faith Ladin of North Central (Illinois), who finished with 5,004 points.

"I had no idea she'd turned around to help Jenna until afterward," said Selle, a Dickinson (North Dakota) High School graduate. "I was laying in the grass trying to catch my breath when I heard this huge round of applause. I looked up and saw Justus finishing with Jenna.

"Seeing that reminded me there is so much more to this sport than winning and losing. We've made lifelong friendships here and that's something I'm always going to carry with me."

Floren said her only worry was letting her head coach down.

"I'm so grateful to Robin," Floren said. "She's put so much time and effort into me the past four years. I wouldn't be where I am now without her. So I didn't want her to be disappointed."

But on that front, she had no cause for concern.

"Not in a million years," Balder-Lanoue said with a smile. "I couldn't have been more proud of her. Afterward, she came up to me and said 'I'm so sorry I'm an empath.' I said 'You don't have anything to apologize for at all.' It was such an emotional moment. The Concordia coaches were crying. I was crying. I was wearing sunglasses so I tried to hide it as best I could. But the tears were falling."

Crazy as it seems, though, Floren's day wasn't over. After finishing the heptathlon just before 1 p.m., she departed Collegeville for La Crosse, Wisconsin, where she competed in another last chance meet in the javelin later that afternoon.

It was while en route that she got a text from Selle.

"She thanked me for pushing her during the first lap," Floren said. "It was one of the sweetest things I ever read. It made me cry and I showed it to Robin. That really meant a lot."

And while her final heptathlon didn't end the way she had hoped it would, she said the memory of those final moments in the 800 is one she will always cherish.

"Making it to nationals would have been great, but to end it like this – with these girls – felt right to me," Floren said. "We've been competing against each other so long, and they're both such great people. I'm walking away 100 percent satisfied and happy."

Kalevik too said it was a day she won't soon forget.

"A race like this shows that winning isn't all that matters," she said. "It's about the relationships you form. I know we're going to stay in touch from here on out. You don't share the bond we've shared then not talk to each other anymore," Kalevik said. "When we came around the stretch, our dads were giving each other a hug. It was pretty incredible. Who knew track could be so emotional?"