by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
For the 32nd consecutive year, Wings of America will sponsor a team of the fastest Native American runners to compete at the US Cross Country Championships. Eight young men and eight young women will be competing on January 18, 2020 in the junior age division race in San Diego, CA.
Wings team members attended a multi-day training camp in Albuquerque, NM between Christmas and New Year’s Day to supplement their knowledge of elite conditioning techniques and foster unity before traveling for competition.
Runners were selected for their Wings team based on their performance at post-season races including Nike Cross Regionals and Footlocker Regionals.
One of the Wings runners is Larissa McElroy. Larissa is a sophomore at Wyoming Indian High School in Ethete, Wyoming.
Larissa has the credentials to aspire toward higher goals. “I have received the Wyoming Coach’s Association’s Academic All-State during my freshman year in cross-country, basketball and track. I was All-Conference and All-State in both cross-country and track. I also won the 3200m run as a freshman in track. This year, I was All Conference and All State in cross-country and Academic All-Conference,” added Larissa.
Representing Indian Country as a Wings Team Runner
“Running and representing the Wings Team are so humbling to me,” said Larissa. “I always run for my ancestors who have struggled so I could be here today. Our coaches at Wyoming Indian HS educate us on how important it is to run for our people. I am so proud to be a part of this team representing Indian Country.”
“The training this past week in Albuquerque was a once in a lifetime experience for me. I enjoyed meeting my team and working out with them each day. I can’t wait to see them again in San Diego. I plan to follow the training schedule until we leave so that I can perform to the best of my ability,” added Larissa.
“Training as a runner through winter takes will power,” said Dustin Martin, Executive Director, Wings of America. “If you’re serious about staying in race shape, you’ll likely spend a lot of time running alone in the cold and maybe dark. One reason we started hosting the National Team training camp was to create a sense of accountability among team members to encourage them to keep training diligently until Nationals. Even if they’re not right there by your side, the vision of your teammates somewhere out there putting in work while you do the same is major motivation.”
“It’s exciting to have a young competitor like Larissa on the Wings Team because she is still very much learning what she is capable of. Even though she’s technically our ‘alternate’, she’s doing all the same training and will race in San Diego. Until training camp, I honestly don’t think Larissa had ever run more than 30 minutes alongside more than one or two
teammates. By the end of training camp, she was stride for stride with girls that are way faster than her ‘on paper,’” added Dustin.
Larissa is an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe from the Wind River Indian Reservation in Arapaho, Wyoming. Her parents are David and Alvonia McElroy and they are both enrolled members of the Northern Arapaho Tribe also. The McElroy family live in Arapaho, Wyoming.
Positive Youth Leadership Development
Alvonia McElroy talked about positive leadership reflections of her daughter: “For over 10 years now, Larissa has been a member of the Little Sun Drum and Dance Group which they perform at the Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, WY every year. She dances fancy shawl and jingle. The Native American dance performances for Cheyenne Frontier Days are scheduled three times a day for the full nine days along with some morning performances during the pancake breakfast and parades. Larissa loves to attend and dance at the Cheyenne Frontier Days and share her culture to all the different people from around the world that come and watch our performances. At the end of each performance, the dancers get a chance to show their regalia and take pictures and talk with the crowd about their regalia and culture. She was excited the year she was crowned Red Willow Princess because she knew she was able to go represent her school, and her traditional club at Cheyenne Frontier Days. She was able to wear her crown on the CFD parade, Grand Entries of the performances, and everywhere else they performed at.”
“I remember in seventh grade, Larissa put her name in the running to be the Red Willow Princess of the middle school’s traditional club. Larissa had to come up with a speech and dance for the school judges. Her speech had to explain how she is going to positively represent her school as a Red Willow Princess. I was so proud of her how she was so driven. She was so determined to become the Red Willow Princess, she worked on her speech for two night’s straight, changing up the words over and over again. It was so cute, she had me, her dad, and her brothers be her audience at home when she practiced her speech. We just loved to see that kind of attitude in her, that determination. She spoke in the Arapaho language when she did her speech. A few days later, she was crowned Red Willow Princess,” added Alvonia.
“I know she was involved in the Student Council during all her years at the Wyoming Indian Middle School, I believe she was the School President for seventh and eighth grade,” said Alvonia. “When she moved up to the Wyoming Indian High School, she was selected to be the President of her freshman class.”
Larissa’s dad, David “Ron” McElroy, Sr. also addressed her leadership skills in her school: “I started seeing her display her leadership skills when she was in the seventh grade. In the seventh grade, Larissa put her name in the running for Student Body President. She was so determined then that she worked on her speech over and over that year, practiced it at home, made her mother video her as she practiced it. Larissa wanted to watch herself to see how she sounded and the message she wanted the audience to receive. In her speech, she spoke in her native language along with English. She took so much pride in getting the President Spot in the student body as she kept talking about it with us. She always talked about making a change that will help everyone.”
“When we talked with one of her middle school teachers during Parent-Teacher Conference night, the teacher expressed to us about how motivated Larissa was in colleges,” said David “Ron”. “She was looking at different colleges that she wanted to attend and looking at what kind of programs the colleges had. Her teacher was so impressed on how focused she was.”
Large Extended Family And Coaches As Models To Be Successful
“I have a large extended family,” said Larissa. “Our grandparents and great-grandparents were the storytellers, keepers of Sacred objects for our Tribe, fluent Arapaho speakers and social Pow-Wow dancers. They instilled in all the grandchildren and children to be proud of who they were as Northern Arapaho. To learn our language, customs and tribal values and beliefs so that it would carry us as we lived in both worlds. They encouraged us to get an education. My parents and many of my family members have graduated from college and are now teachers, engineers and tribal administrators and other leaders in our community. My maternal grandparents, Alonzo and Gladys Moss, taught the Arapaho Language in our school systems and colleges. One important value they taught us was to use our athletic abilities as a gift from the creator to the best of our abilities. We were required to participate in all sports and activities in school. All these values have made me a stronger runner.”
“The person in my life that has positively influenced me is my grandpa Steven SunRhodes, Sr.,” said Larissa. “As I was growing up, I have seen my grandpa’s championship medals, and old newspaper clippings of him when he was running. Seeing all the things he accomplished when he was in high school inspired me that I can do the same and maybe even try to go further and see how far I can go.
“Julie HerManyHorses has been a positive influence since I started high school,” said Larissa. “She is my high school math teacher and one of my high school cross-country coaches. Julie always encourages me to improve on my running and encouraged me to succeed in the classroom.”
“Larissa has been a hard worker that leads by example,” said Coach Julie. “She races with a determined focus. She is always positive with her teammates regardless of the race results and is a very humble person. She is willing to do anything asked of her in practices. As her sophomore season was off to a slow start, she stepped up in practice. As we started with more repeats, she would challenge the majority of the boys’ team. Always working towards improvement.”
“Larissa shows leadership with her teammates every race. She was always one of two lead runners, and she was making decisions when to make moves and using the right race tactic at the right time. The other girls looked to her often. She encouraged and celebrated with all her teammates regardless of anyone’s finish,” added Coach Julie.
Coach Julie addressed Larissa’s state cross-country meet performance: “She was sick at the State Cross-Country Meet this year and diagnosed with strep before the weekend was over. She only mentioned a sore throat, asked for cough drops, but also added she would be ok. She was quiet but continued to be with the team through warm-ups. She was focused and quietly gave confidence to her teammates. The strategy was for Larissa and her teammate Paris to stay within range and challenge the three-time state champion. We wanted a Lady Chief team championship, but also knew we could get an individual title. Larissa challenged Paris and another teammate Riquell to move to the front pack during the first 600 meters. Her encouragement positioned our top three runners into the top four positions before the hill at the end of the first mile. At that point our team championship goal was looking real good. Larissa and Paris then went after the defending champion for the individual title. Larissa started to struggle with her breathing and fever on the uphills to end the second mile. As they began the long uphill to begin the third mile. She couldn’t continue with the challenge for the title, but she did put her whole heart into her last mile to finish third. The Lady Chiefs finished as team champions and our freshman was the individual champion. Larissa was an integral part in leading the other runners into the challenging positions and provide the confidence to run strong races, to make history with the first girls title in school history.”
“Another person that is a positive influence is my other high school cross-country coach and he is my high school history teacher,” said Larissa. “His name is Chico HerManyHorses. When I want to stop or give up, he will encourage me, push me to keep going and fight for what I want.”
Larissa described her runner family: “I come from a family of distance runners. My mother’s father, Steven SunRhodes, Sr. held the 3200m run record for 20 years in Wyoming before it was broken by my track coach, Caleb HerManyHorses. Both ran for Wyoming Indian High School.”
Maternal grandfather, Nelson Moss and the late Paul Moss, Jr. both had high school records for many years in Wyoming and South Dakota.
“My aunt, Jola WallowingBull, was a distance runner at Wyoming Indian High School and college,” said Larissa. “She ran cross-country for the University of Wyoming and was an Academic All-American who graduated with a degree in Architectural Engineering.”
Jola WallowingBull’s story is significant as acknowledging the people who came before this generation of runners. She shared her story: “I was born and raised on the Wind River Indian Reservation and enrolled in the Northern Arapaho Tribe. I attended Wyoming Indian Schools throughout my youth years. I graduated as Co-Valedictorian in 1999 and decided to attend the University of Wyoming on an Academic scholarship. As a freshman, I decided to walk on to the cross-country team. It was a huge challenge dealing with school, majoring in Engineering, cross country practice, and just being on my own my freshman year. However, after the first semester the entire Wyoming Cowgirls cross country team received the Mountain West Academic All-Conference team. That required completing the semester with a 3.0 gpa as a student athlete. After my freshman year, I no longer continued to be on the cross-country team and ended up taking a year off of school after my sophomore year. Upon returning, I continued my degree in Architectural Engineering. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering in May 2006. I have worked with my tribe in various positions, but I am currently the Director for the Northern Arapaho Tribal Engineering Department.”
“I was raised by my single parent mother, Aleta Moss and my grandparents, Alonzo and Gladys Moss. They were a huge influence in my life and encouraged all their children and grandchildren to continue their education and participate in all sports. My grandma Gladys always taught us to help family and take care of one another. I live with my mother, Aleta Moss who is a health teacher at Wyoming Indian High School and a coach for 30 years for the basketball team, and many years as a volleyball and track coach. I was raised by strong, independent, and respectful women and that reflects on my life in many ways. But as a close-knit family we have tried to instill the same teachings to the younger generation in our family. All my nieces and nephews participate in all sports and school related activities,” added Jola.
“I am Larissa’s godmother, we are both baptized into St. Michael’s Episcopalian church in Ethete, Wyoming,” said Jola. “Since Larissa started running in the fifth grade, we all knew she was going to be a good runner. I always help my nieces with homework and encouragement in sports. I know the stress and commitment it takes. So, I’m always telling them what it’s like in college, especially if they want to participate in sports at the college level. I know Larissa gets super nervous before races so I’m always sending her words of support and confidence. All my nieces know I like to travel so they’re always asking me to take them here and there for fun trips. I treat all my nieces like they are my own. I will always support Larissa in all her decisions regarding running and school. She is a smart, dedicated, humorous, sweet, and hard-working young lady and her future looks very bright.”
The future is bright for Larissa McElroy as she moves forward toward new adventures.
Photo Credits: Alvonia McElroy and Aleta Moss
