ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The new NCAA Division III national cross country champion has learned that the route to success may be long, but is worth it.

Photo by Jamie Diorio

J.B. Haglund pulls away from the competition on his way to a cross country championship.

It took J.B. Haglund more than five years — including a two-year break for a mission — to go from 131st to first in the national cross country meet, but he didn't mind the trip. As the Haverford College senior was running down the final straight-away on the course at Highland Springs Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill., on Saturday, Nov. 17, he knew he had the race locked up.

With many of his family members cheering him on, he excitedly pushed to the finish, and a big celebration. Winning "takes care of a lot of fatigue," he said during a Church News interview by telephone. "It's something I've been working toward for a long time."

He said he didn't consider himself to be a top athlete coming out of high school in Tennessee. "But I was serious about it and wanted to get better at it." So he began looking around for a college and settled on Haverford, a small but prestigious liberal arts school just outside Philadelphia. He was most attracted by the school's strong tradition in cross country and track and field, and by its coach, Tom Donnelly.

"I came out my freshman year and made a lot of improvements," he said. He was able to compete, if only at the humble level he reached in 1996 on the same course where he would years later become a champion.

Then it was time for him to decide about a mission. He said he didn't feel a lot of pressure to go, "but it seemed like the right thing to do." An older brother, Richard, had set an example for him by interrupting education to serve and that helped confirm J.B.'s decision to go. He said he had the support of his coach and teammates who good-naturedly nicknamed him "Mormon" at the 1,100-student school where he was the only member of the Church.

Physically, his two years in the Korea Seoul Mission didn't do much to keep him in running form. He ran a little, especially while his companion was Utah State University runner Brick Bergeson. Other than that, he didn't have many companions willing to get up an hour early to hit the road. He came home 25 pounds heavier than when he left.

But the spiritual blessings made it worthwhile. Along with the gratification of serving others, he said, a mission was a good time to learn more about himself and where he was going. He better understood "what a blessing it is to have the opportunity to compete and to train."

With a more refined perspective, he raised himself to the level of a five-time all-American, twice in cross country, twice in the indoor distance medley relay and once in the indoor 1500-meter run. Still ahead for the senior who attends the Philadelphia 3rd Ward, Valley Forge Pennsylvania Stake, are his final indoor and outdoor track seasons.

After that, with an English degree in hand, he wants to keep training in track and perhaps compete in the next Olympic trials. Can he improve enough to compete with the nation's best? At least there's a precedent in his life — improving from 131st place to champion on a cross country course.

E-mail: ghill@desnews.com