During her brief time on campus, University of South Alabama women's distance runner Carolien Millenaar has quickly made her mark for the Jaguars both on the track and sometimes difficult cross country courses despite not picking up running until her mid-teen years.

"I got involved with athletics at a very young age. I started with some sports other than track like handball and soccer," Millenaar said. "I played those sports until I was 16, and I started running in 2014, which was quite late. I had my first track meet in May of that year and I quit soccer; I've been running ever since. I started in a track and field club, but switched to a running club because I wanted to do more mileage and the track and field club was mainly about sprints. I feel I'm more of a high-mileage type person."

Her pathway to running initially started in part due to soccer.

"In soccer, we had what we called 'intervals' at the end of our practices; I used to hate doing those," Millenaar stated. "I went to some road races with my family and I started really liking it; I won early on which made it really fun. I made the soccer intervals a competition and won those as well. I then realized I could probably be good at running."

A conversation with a soccer official following a match, along with a chance meeting with him in a grocery store also helped lead her to the sport.

"That's actually a fun story," Millenaar said when talking about her route to running. "I was with the Danish National Soccer Team and we were playing a friendly against Iceland, which we are kind of associated with. One of the referees in the match was from Iceland and he told me that I looked pretty fast, and that if I had any interest in joining a [running] club to let him know. I thought it would be fun, but I never did anything about it. Later on, I met him in the supermarket and he asked me about it again. I told him I hadn't joined any clubs and I actually went with him to start."

The early success with cross country also ended up providing Millenaar's eventual path to South Alabama, although she didn't take things seriously with the way her recruiting process initially began.

"I was first contacted by some schools with some Facebook messages in January 2017, and at first I didn't think that it was a serious thing," Millenaar said. "It seemed informal so I didn't think it was serious. Most of the coaches just look at a web site that list the Top 100 runners and I had ran a good 800-meter time, so they saw that and started contacting me. In February, I started considering it because I continued to get messages. I thought 'Okay, this might be a real thing'."

The Sørvad, Denmark, native was contacted by eight or nine programs and contacted four on her own, one of which was South Alabama. She eventually chose to sign with the Jaguars after speaking with then cross country coach David Barnett and then Jag runner Laura Labuschaigne.

"I had talked with the coach and Laura, along with some other people on the team," Millenaar said. "They seemed like nice people. I also looked at the climate and thought it was nice and warm; I didn't think about the humidity. It was close to the water, warm and different, and I had never been in the South. The facilities were nice and it just seemed like a nice place. I made a pros and cons list about all the schools I was looking at, and my gut feeling was to just come here."

With that, Millenaar arrived at South just a couple days before the start of the semester in August and her first collegiate race.  

"I had high expectations," Millenaar said of when she first arrived last fall. "I had been the only girl on my running teams in Denmark, so it was new for me to train with other girls. I just wanted to come in and push myself in every workout we had. I remember I was nervous the night before [practices] and sometimes I wasn't able to sleep because I wanted to perform well at every workout we had. I didn't get stressed out by it, but it was definitely less relaxing than it is now. Now, I can focus on other things, but I did want to make a big impact."

Her impact was immediate as she finished second at the Azalea City Classic in her first race as a Jag. In fact, it was just her fourth-ever cross country meet. She went on to finish sixth in her next meet at the Greater Louisville Classic and then earned third-team all-Sun Belt honors with an 11th-place showing at the league's cross country championship in Boone, N.C. At the conference meet, Millenaar recorded a personal best 5k time of 18:05, and then closed out the season with a 6k personal best time of 21:44 at the NCAA South Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

"I definitely think I peaked at the right time last season," Milenaar said of her strong close to her freshman campaign, one in which she finished as the second-fastest runner in all five races for the Jaguars.

Millenaar also excelled during both portions of the track and field seasons, setting a new Jaguar record of 10:56.51 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the War Eagle Invitational, while also earning all-SBC honors in the same event during the outdoor season. During the indoor season, she claimed third-team all-conference honors with a 17:46 mark in the Sun Belt Championship 5,000-meter race.

The 5-foot-5 runner feels the two sports have been the perfect complement as a distance runner.

"My cross country training helps me in track and field," Millenaar said. "Track and field is also where I have my biggest goals set and where I develop my technique. In cross country, I become stronger and get a better endurance, so the two sports complement each other very well."

As a distance runner one of the keys is being able to push through things when you believe you can't. Millenaar sees her time of training with only guys an advantage. "Since most guys are faster and stronger than me, they have really taught me to push through when it counts the most," Millenaar noted.

Before the start of her sophomore season, Millenaar was named one of seven female runners to watch in the Sun Belt in August.

"It meant a lot to me that the other conference coaches see my potential and that they noticed me," Millenaar said. "You don't really know if they notice you sometimes, so it was nice that they did."

Thus far this season, Millenaar has continued to excel on the course as she finished second once again at the Azalea City Classic and finished just outside of the top 30 at the 30th Annual Chili Pepper Festival event in Fayetteville, Ark., last month. Her time of 18:06 placed her 32nd amongst the field of 422 runners and was one second shy of matching her 5k personal best.

This season's roster looks very similar to last year's when it comes to make up as there are just four upperclassmen and seven underclassmen, including four freshmen.  Even though she is just a sophomore, Millenaar is looked upon in a similar leadership role that Labuschaigne – who won the Sun Belt individual title – was a year ago.

Last season, Millenaar was one of five freshmen on the squad racing with Labuschaigne, so all she had to do was reflect back in order to garner leadership techniques.

"I learned a lot from Laura and I've tried to follow in her footsteps here at South; she set the bar high," Millenaar said. "She was our team captain last year and did a good job of talking with us before races and calming us down. I have to remember to do that this season with our young runners. Because we are such a young group, I think it's important to make the younger runners realize that if you have a bad race, you have to get over it and learn from it rather than just giving up."

Millenaar's leadership this season has been noted by her head coach.

"The thing that excites me most about Carolien is the leadership role that she takes on for this program," second-year Jaguar cross country coach Parker Cowles said. "It goes well beyond her individual success as an athlete. She sets a positive tone and attitude for this team, and in terms of dedication and discipline, she leads by example. Her biggest role is facilitating the culture of the program; she fosters team unity and she is someone who the team responds to and respects."

Labuschaigne's leadership also had a personal effect on Millenaar that also helps her guide the Jags' newcomers.

"Laura was always there at practice ready to go," Millenaar said. "You always have some kind of negative thoughts, but whenever I had those she would get me to look at things from another perspective. She would tell me something positive, which would calm me. This season, if our freshman have any type of negative feelings, I try to respond to them like she would. She definitely had an impact on the way I think now."

Cowles agrees that Labushcaigne's tutelage played an important role in Millenaar's continued development.

"Laura was a veteran with a very steely approach to competition," Cowles said. "At the front of the pack, there is always a feeling of expectation to run well and succeed, and that can really wear on some athletes. I really believe Laura imparted her level-headed approach to high-level racing on Carolien, which has helped her be consistent in her racing."

Through the first four races this fall, Millenaar feels the young group has blended well together.

"I think we've developed a strong relationship in the group and we always have a lot of fun together," Millenaar said. "We enjoy each other's company and think that will reflect our running times in the future. It is great to have a relationship where we both laugh and have fun outside of practice and can be serious and push each other in the weight room and on the courses. We have had some injuries, but as I once heard, 'In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time'. I am not saying that an injury is a failure, but I am saying that success is in our near future once we find the right path to it."

On Oct. 27, South Alabama will begin postseason competition as the Jags will host the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Championships in Mobile at the Brookley Golf Course. South will have a leg up on the rest of the field as it has already competed at the event location this fall, hosting the Azalea City Classic back on Sept. 7 where the Jag women finished first.

"There is a lot of benefit to having ran there before, especially in cross country," Millenar said, "In track, every track you run on is pretty much the same length. At this course, you definitely benefit from having competed at it before. It's a bit uphill and a bit downhill, there are areas with pavement and there are areas where having run it before you can benefit. Having raced there earlier this season and done some training sessions out there has helped us know where to push, where to relax and where to put the final kick in which will help."

So what is her advice to her young teammates as they prepare to compete for the league title?

"Don't overthink it, don't stress about it and do what you know you are capable of, while also knowing you can push yourself more," Millenaar said.

If the group can heed the advice of South Alabama's late-blooming all-conference performer, it just might result in the program's fifth league title.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Finish Line Club, the track and field and cross country specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  All donations to the Finish Line Club go directly to support the South Alabama track and field/cross country programs.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/finishlineclub.

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