SIOUX FALLS – Nicolette Schmidt has always had high, arguably even lofty, expectations of herself. 

At Augustana, she found a group of others to have those same expectations. Schmidt, a former Redfield standout, is a current junior for the Viking cross country and track and field squads.

And she’s not just pulling along with the rest of the team. Schmidt is leading the charge.

“It’s definitely been a journey,” Schmdit said of her time with the Vikings. “I feel like I’ve had the best support system in regards to my coaches and teammates. None of the success I’ve had would have been possible without them.”

And success is certainly what Schmidt has found in one of the NSIC’s top programs. She is a four-time All-American in track and field – all during the indoor season – and an All-American in cross country, as well, helping lead the Vikings to a third place finish at the NCAA championships last fall.

It’s exactly why she chose Augustana in the first place.

“What I thought I was going to experience, this has been way better,” Schmidt said. “It’s been fun to have a team to pursue big goals with.”

It’s that pursuit, almost a single-minded focus, that has driven Schmidt throughout her career. And it’s the same pursuit that made reaching the podium last fall that much sweeter.

“It’s been our dream for so long,” Schmidt said. “To finally reach that goal was a pretty emotional day. It was fun to experience something we’ve only talked about for so long.”

But the journey wasn’t all that smooth. Both the explosion of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated disruptions plus Augustana’s announcement that it was going to pursue NCAA Division I status – a decision the Vikings have since tabled – weighed heavily on Schmidt and her teammates.

“From a team standpoint, we were very sad,” Schmidt said of Augustana’s Division I application. “Were we not going to get that chance to pursue that goal of being on the podium and being an All-American? … That was the worst part of that uncertainty.”

Then came COVID, which wiped out large portions of both the spring and fall competition schedules.

“I had a good summer of training when that happened,” Schmidt said. “There wasn’t a whole lot else to do. I just poured myself into that.”

Schmidt had hoped that training would pay off in the fall, only to be hit with yet another disappointment when the fall season also fell victim to the pandemic.

So, the Vikings made the best of a messy situation, holding intra-squad time trials just to have something to look forward to. Schmidt said she set some new personal records during those time trials, proof that her summer of training did, in fact, pay off.

“It would have been a really good cross country season,” she said.

Schmidt has also had her share of success on the track, earning All-America status twice in the distance medley relay and in the mile during the indoor seasons.

In the current outdoor season, she ranks second in the NSIC in the 1,500 meters and fourth in the 5,000. Both marks are also NCAA provisional qualifying times, as well.

“Coming on to the team, there were some really good leaders,” Schmidt said. “I got to learn from them what it means to train and compete at a high level. It’s been fun.”

Now Schmidt is bringing that success back home. Close, anyway. The Vikings – and the rest of the league – will descend on Aberdeen next weekend for the NSIC Outdoor Championships, which will begin May 12 at Brownell Activities Complex, formerly the Swisher Athletic Complex.

“That part of the state will always hold a special place in my heart,” Schmidt said. “Some of my very first races were in Aberdeen, either at Lee Park (Golf Course) or at Swisher. That area will always hold a special place in my heart. It’ll feel like home.”