Wisconsin-Native Laura Beghin Enjoying Breakthrough Year with Vikings after Big Move, Injuries Earlier in Her Career

Wisconsin teenager Laura Beghin had been intrigued by the Pacific Northwest for some time as she racked up success after success in track, cross country and in the classroom for Wisconsin Dells High School, an hour away from Madison.

Maybe it was the similar summers and the Northwest’s strong running tradition. Maybe it was just the call of seeing somewhere new. Whatever it was, Beghin knew she wanted at least to look.

Her high school track and cross country resume gave her options as she drew interest from a number of university programs. And, of course, she had been a four-year academic award recipient in cross country.

Beghin, who will complete her fourth year as a Viking distance runner this spring, was four-times all-state in cross country, as well as state runner-up individually (2016 and 2017) and with her team (2017). She was a sectional cross country champion as a senior, four-time conference champion, two-time District Runner of the Year and MVP of her high school team all four years.

Although she considered schools close to home…Minnesota, North Dakota…she wanted “to go somewhere new for college and liked the idea of the Pacific Northwest.”

So, she got out her reference material on schools here and began making contacts. Her resume caught the attention of the PSU coaching staff that had a program focusing on distance runners with strong academic credentials.

By the winter of her senior year, she’d toured Portland State and liked it. But, she wanted to see more options. Then Covid hit.

“I wanted to tour some other schools on the West coast, but couldn’t because of the pandemic starting. I decided Portland State was a great place to start and a school I was interested in,” Beghin recalled. So, she committed in 2020, during the pandemic.

On her initial visit, she loved Portland and the team atmosphere as well as the bigger city compared to her tourist-oriented hometown (population 3,223). As time has gone by, “I’ve stayed at Portland State because of how much I love Portland and the versatility this area has. Similar to Wisconsin, there is a large nature aspect throughout the city, but with many other bonuses as well.”

Especially for someone interested in the environment, Beghin said she has enjoyed the proximity to Mt. Hood, the Mt. Hood National Forest, Columbia River Gorge and the coast, just to name a few.

That doesn’t mean she hasn’t missed Wisconsin with its similar summers and plethora of lakes. She fondly remembers summers there working as a tour guide and boat pilot during high school. Summer sun…on the water…and with friends.

But, it’s the Pacific Northwest where she plans to go to graduate school following her spring graduation in Environmental Studies with a minor in Climate Change Science (she’s carrying a 3.86 cumulative GPA, by the way). Following graduate school, Beghin would like to find a career here in forest management or forest restoration.

She has always liked the outdoors and began running occasionally with her mother in elementary school. Both parents (Kerry and Patrick Beghin) used to run for fun, and her sister Sarah ran and played tennis and softball in high school.

In grade school, “I loved doing the mile run and the pacer test in gym class, especially being able to beat the boys in the class. In the sixth grade, I started running cross country and track and really enjoyed having a team of friends to run with every day. I was good at running in elementary and middle school, so being good at something made it more fun as well,” she said.

Despite her high school success in cross country, Beghin has focused more on track events at PSU and enjoys most mid-distance to distance events. 

“I’d happily run an 800, 1,500, 3,000 or 5,000 at any meet, but I think I enjoy the 1,500 the most…it’s long enough to be considered a distance event, but not too long. It goes by fast and is a very competitive, engaging race which I like,” she said. Incidentally, she’s saved more than seven seconds off her 1,500-meter personal best this season, one of five PBs she’s set between the 2024 indoor and outdoor track seasons (the others being the indoor 800, 1k, mile and 3k). Still, so far this year, her best race has been the 1,000 meters where she now ranks 4th all-time at PSU after a 3:00.28 at the Portland Indoor One in mid-January.

There’ve been some bumps in both her high school and college running careers where she’s had to deal with three tibia fractures.

“I’d love to run some 800’s, 5k’s and 4x4’s this outdoor track season for fun to see where my progress has gotten me,” she said. But after her injury-riddled years, being able to participate and compete is exhilarating and she’d be happy to race any event “as long as it means I’m not sitting on the sidelines.”

When talking about highlights during her time at PSU, the first thing that pops into her mind was getting her dog Wren while she was injured during her sophomore year. While getting Wren wasn’t specifically driven by her injury, she soon found the company was exactly what she needed.

“She was a major help in improving my mental and physical health. As many athletes know, being injured is mentally, socially and physically tough to go through. Wren kept me busy and hopeful throughout, and she became a great running buddy when I was able to run again,” she said. “She adds to the complexity of my busy schedule and has made my college experience so much better.”

A strength of Portland State’s academic program is the hands-on experience many disciplines require as part of the curriculum and Beghin lists an internship with the PSU Planning and Sustainability Office as another highlight. She is a Sustainability Data Analyst intern. There, she helps with the school’s sustainability-related community outreach and contributes to the social media and newsletter for the university’s various sustainability departments.

“This last summer, I also was able to work at a nature camp in Portland’s parks, spending the summer teaching youth about ecology and the environment. I enjoyed the opportunity to work with great colleagues and spend my days outside,” she said.

So, from the upper Midwest lake’s region to the Pacific Northwest, it’s been quite a life changing journey for Laura Beghin.

And about that 3.86 GPA she’s maintained… “I don’t feel like I should brag (she was asked if she wanted to brag) about my GPA, but I have worked hard throughout the undergrad years to maintain a strong GPA…as a busy student-athlete, employee and dog mom. I am pretty proud of this.”