Elite 90 Award Recipient Branched Out From Playing On National Championship Soccer Team To Become One Of The Fastest Half-Milers In Division 3 History

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

On May 1 at the Virginia Grand Prix, Esther Seeland turned in the third-fastest 800-meter time in NCAA Division 3 outdoor history, running 2 minutes, 3.25 seconds. Her time was just shy of the U.S Olympic Trials qualifying standard of 2:02.50.

The sophomore from Messiah College (Pa.) described the moment as "super exciting." After all, it was her first competitive 800 of the season and a personal best. Veteran head track coach Dale Fogelsanger said it was the first opportunity since the pandemic for Seeland to run in a high-caliber field. 

“I haven’t had a lot of opportunities, and to really get to go out there and race as hard as I could and have that opportunity, it was awesome,” she said. 

For Seeland, the journey has been all about that keyword, opportunity, and seizing it. Seeland was originally never supposed to be on the track team. She came to Messiah to play soccer. But when soccer season ended in the late fall of 2018, her dad, Matt, a track and field coach himself, suggested she give track a go again. After all, it was another opportunity.  

“My dad just told me you might as well at least try it your freshman year and if you don’t want to do after that, you don’t have to, but you don’t want to miss out on something you have the opportunity to do,” Seeland said. 

Since 2018, Seeland has embraced the daunting but rewarding undertaking of playing two collegiate sports, as she's developed into one of the top soccer and track stars in the NCAA.

She heads into the NCAA Division 3 Track and Field Outdoor Championships on May 27-29 at Irwin Belk Track at North Carolina A&T State University, with the top times in the 400 (55.30), 800 (2:03.25) and the third-fastest 1,500 (4:27.39). 

“I’m just a very fortunate bystander,” Fogelsanger said with a laugh of having Seeland join the track team. “I’m so thankful for her dad.”

Making a run at two sports

For Seeland growing up, it was always soccer. Playing the sport since she was 5 years old, she didn’t join a track team until her high school years at State College Area in Pennsylvania, where her dad is the throwing coach.

With a solid foundation from the pitch, Seeland found success in the mid-distance events starting out in the 400 meters. By her senior year, she was the PIAA state champion in the 800 (2:09.69).

“I think just coming from a team sport background and doing something so individual was really different but I liked the responsibilities associated with that,” Seeland said of running. “You’ve got to put your own work in and I really liked that aspect of that.”

Seeland credits her Type-A personality for always being on the go. Doubling up in two collegiate sports isn't unprecedented. Fogelsanger said at Messiah they’ve had athletes take on two sports before.

“The conversation at the beginning was one not of pressure but opportunity, if she wanted to do it,” Fogelsanger said.  

Seeland, who had offers to attend a Division 1 school and compete on a larger scale for soccer, said she was drawn to the mission of the Christan faith-based school, valuing the whole individual. And whether she knew it or not, there was a chance waiting for her to excel as a multiple-sport athlete.  

“When I came to Messiah the people here wanted me to be the best athlete I could be but also develop and grow and build my character,” she said. “The atmosphere here, being a Christian school, has just helped me grow in my faith and that's been really important.” 

Balancing Act

Seeland admits, managing two collegiate sports has been a learning process.

“I haven't quite figured it out, but I think the communication has been really helpful,” she said. “Something I've had to get a lot better at since freshman year is telling my coaches, ‘Hey, I have a really busy week of school this week, I’m not sleeping a lot, I'm not feeling super great, or just, I am feeling really great, can we push today a little harder?”

A typical day for Seeland this spring, who is an engineering major, would consist of classes in the morning, a run, practice and then more studying. Three days a week she juggled both soccer and track and practices. The other two were strictly track. The weekend was dedicated to a game or meet. 

“It’s been very challenging, especially in the spring it gets tough because we have a spring soccer season but I’m in my coaches' offices all the time and seeing them and asking questions,” Seeland said. “It definitely is overwhelming but I'm surrounded by a really good support system and it makes it possible.”

Seeland has clearly figured something out as the results have been there. On the field, the 5-foot-9 defender led Messiah to the 2019 NCAA Division 3 title as she was a full-time starter and anchored a stifling defense that allowed just nine goals. She was also the recipient of the prestigious Elite 90 academic award, carrying a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point average.  

On the track, she won the Division 3 title in the 800 in 2019, clocking 2:05.24 and was named the Middle Atlantic Conference Outdoor Rookie of the Year. On May 6-8, she guided Messiah to its fourth consecutive MAC crown, as she won the 800, 1,500, placed third in the 400 and was part of the winning 4x400 relay. She was named the Women's Track Athlete of the Year

“She's very, very disciplined, very consistent, never missing a lifting session, run or workout,”  Fogelsanger said. 

Soccer or Track?

“Soccer is fun, but track is very satisfying,” Seeland said.

Seeland doesn’t commit to favoring one sport over the other, but having both has been a saving grace in terms of her mental state and feeling burnt out. Seeland also noted as she’s matured as a runner some of the soccer intelligence she’s gained growing up has helped her development into an elite mid-distance runner. 

“I think, especially in the 800, there actually is a lot of strategy to the race and learning how to read other people around you, which I do in soccer all the time, it does end up translating to track because you need to know who's on your shoulder, where people are and coming around the turn, what's happening,” she said. “That’s something I've noticed that has been helpful that I would have never thought of.”

Strong Spring

Seeland, who Fogelsanger describes as a focused, polite, very calculated and family-oriented individual, has enjoyed a breakout spring, cementing her name as not only one of the top 800 runners in Division 3 but the entire collegiate scene. Seeland said when the pandemic paused most of the 2020 season, and without a sport to compete in for the first time in forever, her mentality was never to stop. She spent last spring and summer running more mileage and building a stronger base, something that has paid off in 2021.  

“I had the mindset of, 'I can’t compete, but I want to be ready for that opportunity,'” she said.

Fogelsanger said what sets Seeland apart is her innate drive to be the best version of herself.  

“She’s a great competitor in terms of pushing herself,” he said. “Maybe she has a high pain tolerance but she does not give up until she crosses that finish line.”

While Seeland isn’t committed yet to what she’ll run at the NCAA Championships, she does know the 800 is her favorite event. 

While nothing is set in stone yet, Fogelsanger said he hopes to get Seeland in another elite race before or after NCAAs. He mentioned the possibility of the NYC Qualifier on May 21 at Icahn Stadium and June 6 at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, Tenn.

The thought of hitting that Olympic Trials standard for Seeland is in the back of her mind, but right now, Seeland is focused on the present.

“It would be an awesome opportunity if it presented itself,” Seeland said. “It would be super fun, but my coaches are always telling me to just be a 20-year old. So right now, I’m just trying to be a 20-year old and see what I can do. I don't want to get my eyes fixed on something and miss everything else in front of me at the moment.”

But if and when that opportunity does present itself, Seeland will be ready for it.