Bernadette Belzer setting new records, enjoying new experiences

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Jan. 1—JAMESTOWN — Bernadette Belzer had two loves in high school.

When she got to college, she had to choose just one.

Hockey was not the one she decided to pursue.

Belzer, now a junior at the University of Mary, is in the throes of her third season with the U Mary track and field team.

"As a freshman coming to U Mary I was super excited to be a part of the team and become a better track athlete," Belzer said. "I love competing and pushing myself outside of my boundaries and I knew U Mary was a place that would do that for me both physically and academically. "Freshman year was a lot of new experiences for me. I was adapting to new events ... a full indoor competition season and was adjusting to the student-athlete life. I loved getting to learn from every new experience and competing at the college level."

While attending Jamestown High School, Belzer qualified for the NDHSAA State Track and Field Championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023. In her senior year, she competed in the state finals for both the 100 and 300 meter hurdles where she placed 11th and second, respectively. The former Jay also ran some mid-distance races like the 400 meter dash and the 4x400 meter relay.

"The switch from high school to college is a pretty big jump," Belzer said. "I went from running from March through May in high school to training year-round for college. With college-level training, I've gotten faster and stronger. I've also had great coaches and mentors that have helped me work especially on my hurdle form and technique."

Belzer is primarily a 400-meter hurdler during the outdoor season but also competes in the 4x400 meter relay. During the indoor season, Belzer competes in the 600 meter run and contributes to the Marauders' relay teams while occasionally throwing in an open 200 or 400 meter run.

The competition schedule for the indoor season began on Dec. 5 and will conclude on March 13-14 with the NCAA Indoor Championships. U Mary's next competition is scheduled for Jan. 17 at the University of Mary Fieldhouse.

As a freshman, Belzer competed at the NSIC Indoor Championships in the 600 and wound up placing 14th with a time of 1:42.35. In her first outdoor season with the Marauders, she placed 10th in the 400 hurdles at the conference championships with a time of 1:06.01.

That brought her to the summer of 2024, but while competition stopped, training did not.

"When we are not in season, we still train year-round," Belzer said. "Sophomore year, I was able to come in with confidence, having learned a lot from my past season. I was able to hit some big PRs (personal records) and performed well for my team, so I hope to be able to continue to do so."

Belzer set a PR in the 600 meter run at last season's SDSU Indoor Classic with a time of 1:38.58. She also hit PRs in the 200 (26.72 seconds) and the 400 (1 minute, 0.32 seconds). She also hit new season best times in the 300 with a time of 42.84 seconds and the 60 meter hurdles where she crossed the line at 9.48 seconds. At the 2025 NSIC Indoor Championships, Belzer placed seventh in the 600 meter with a time of 1:39.9.

During the outdoor season, Belzer found much success in her favorite event — the 400 meter hurdles. Her season ended with a seventh place finish at the NSIC Championships. Belzer clocked a time of 1:03.40. Belzer's performances in her events have helped U Mary's women's team earn second place finishes at both the indoor and outdoor conference meets for the past two seasons.

"Being able to place that high in the NSIC, which is a really competitive conference, has been amazing to be a part of," Belzer said.

A team as dominant and supportive as U Mary's squad has made training a great experience for Belzer.

"My fall training went very well," Belzer said. "I have a great group of long sprints and hurdle girls I get to train with. I just need to keep putting in the work at practice and executing races now that I am in competition season. Also, I need to stay on top of small injuries and make sure I take care of my body. (This) is so important as a track runner in order to compete to the best of my abilities."

Being at the top of her game means some intense schedule discipline for Belzer.

"Learning to find a balance between school, track, work and a social life is very hard but an extremely rewarding thing to do," Belzer said. "I'm now a junior studying biology with a chemistry minor on the pre-med track, so school and track are very demanding, but I have learned that I love the challenge of seeing how much I can accomplish in a day."

Belzer said practices can consist of anything from hurdle technique days to endurance running repeats to hill runs.

That's just the first part.

"We will have either lifting or a body weight circuit after," Belzer said. " ... Track workouts themselves can be pretty long and grueling, but I have a great training group that support and push me to embrace the challenge head on. I truly love U Mary and the track team is my second home and family. I'm grateful I have the opportunity to be able to run in college and be surrounded by amazing coaching staff and teammates every day.

"I would encourage any young middle or high schoolers to try track," she said. "It is such a unique and amazing sport. ... I love that track allows you to push yourself as an individual and have personal success, but you are also part of a team and you get to be part of something bigger than yourself. There are so many different events, so there truly is something for everyone."

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