Foot Locker national cross country champion expected to take measured approach during indoor season for Ann Arbor Pioneer, hoping to be efficient during outdoor schedule in Michigan in preparation for potential run at qualifying to represent Poland at World U-20 Championships in July in Kenya

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Zofia Dudek calls her last high school cross country season “wild,” which means the start of her final year of prep track plans on being a lot less hectic.

The Ann Arbor Pioneer MI senior experienced an exceptional prep season this past fall, winning the Nike Cross Midwest Regional crown Nov. 16, then placing second two weeks later at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional Championships.

Dudek, 17, then travelled to Lisbon, Portugal to represent Poland in the European U-20 Championships, placing fifth behind four 19-year-old athletes in the 4-kilometer race Dec. 8, only to come back and fly to San Diego and win the Foot Locker National title Dec. 14, producing the fastest 5-kilometer time at Balboa Park in 25 years by clocking 16 minutes, 45 seconds.

That’s four races and four elite performances in the span of one month.

So it makes sense that she isn’t in any rush to jump right into her final high school track season.

"I've been taking it pretty slow. Right after Foot Locker, I took about a two-week break, with a bit of running,” Dudek said. “And then I just started again with my indoor training after that, and so far it’s been going slow and steady.”

Dudek, who said she’s feeling in pretty good shape, opened up her indoor season Saturday at one of the Michigan Indoor Track Series (MITS) meets at Saginaw Valley State University where she won the 800 meters in a Fieldhouse record time of 2:09.97.

“I just started, (but) I think it’s been going well so far, and I have some high hopes for this indoor season,” she said.

Dudek, who will attend Stanford in the fall, has a somewhat low-key indoor season planned.

The highlights include a few more MITS meets, her next is this Saturday at Hillsdale College.

Aside from gearing up for the indoor state meet at Eastern Michigan at the end of February, Dudek said she’ll compete Feb. 14 in the Gazelle Sports ELITE 3200 at Grand Valley State University.

A year ago, she finished fourth (10:07.03) in a fast 3,200 as Glenbard West IL senior and Michigan signee Katelynne Hart won in 10:02.46 in a race where four girls finished under 10:10.

“I’m super excited,” Dudek said. “It’s going to be my third time racing there, so I’m really excited to see if I have (made) progress over the last year. It’s really nice to compare my times over the years, and every year we have some new athletes to race, so I think it’s going to be very exciting.”

Dudek and Ann Arbor Pioneer will also look to compete as a team at New Balance Nationals Indoor in March in a few of the relays. Dudek said they aren’t 100 percent sure what exact relays, but are eyeing the distance medley, 4xMile and 4x800. Last winter, Ann Arbor Pioneer placed seventh in the DMR and 12th in the SMR. Dudek also raced in the mile, placing fourth (4:44.88).

With indoor marking the beginning of her final track season, Dudek said the focus is making sure to take care of her body in prep for a long season. She said her takeaways from a rigorous fall were the basics – getting enough sleep and fueling herself properly.

“I saw that (this past fall) some of my best workouts were right before Foot Locker, but I think just for me to get to that point, to go for a long time, I think just going slow and steady just helps,” she said.

While Dudek has already experienced success on the international level – she won the 3,000 meters at the European U-20 Championships in July – this summer she might test the waters and run the Polish Nationals in an attempt to hit the standards for World U-20 Championships, scheduled for July 7-12 in Nairobi, Kenya.

With it also being an Olympic year, Dudek also has her eyes on one day qualifying, but is in no rush. The prep standout is content with a slow and steady approach, perhaps placing more emphasis on 2024 in Paris.

“I mean, I think ultimately that’s every athletes dream, and definitely mine too,” she said. “I think it will take a lot more work to get there, but I do hope one day I'll get a chance to represent my country in the Olympics. But it's a pretty far dream for me right now.”