Light on Her Feet

“Every run is a work of art, a drawing on each day’s canvas. Some runs are shouts and some runs are whispers. Some runs are eulogies and others celebrations.” —Dagny Scott Barrios

Story by Emily Erickson ’15 | Photos by Kensie Wallner | August 23, 2024

“Every run is a work of art, a drawing on each day’s canvas …

When record-breaking track and field athlete Nell Graham ’24 ends a race, she blazes past the white finish line. Win or lose, she knows what awaits her on the other side: her Bison teammates, ready to give hugs, high fives, and support — sometimes in unexpected ways.

“There’s always someone there to take my shoes off,” Nell said, referring to her uncomfortable spiked track shoes. “Recovering quickly is important, and the faster you can take your shoes off, the better. I think that [support] describes our team so well.”

Originally from Dodge Center, Minnesota, Nell came from a small track and field program in high school, where she focused on individual events.

“I wanted to go to a school where I would be able to contribute on the team aspect … but I also wanted to be able to grow,” Nell said. Athletically and academically, NDSU felt like the right fit.

Nell’s NDSU track and field experience was unique — she was recruited to compete in the 400-meter run, but after a few years of focusing on the 400 and 4×400 relay, she dipped her toes into combined events, known as “multis.” The women’s multis are the indoor pentathlon — a one-day event consisting of 60-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, and 800-meter run — and the outdoor heptathlon — a two-day event consisting of all the pentathlon events plus the 200-meter sprint and javelin throw.

Nell’s instinct to branch out into multis was right on the mark. She has broken the previous NDSU records in the 300, 400, 600, and outdoor 400; posted pentathlon scores that ranked 37th in the NCAA in the 2023 to 2024 season; and ended her Bison heptathlon career at No. 6 on the NDSU all-time list.

Stevie Keller ’06, director of NDSU track and field and cross country, has coached Nell in track events since she joined the team.

“[The team] has a family atmosphere,” Stevie said. “They train together, they travel together, and they really support each other.”

The team’s connectedness and dedication are palpable among the 115 student-athletes, plus the coaches and staff.

“It’s special because track is an individual sport, but I’m on a team — I really feel like I’m a part of something much bigger than myself,” Nell said. “It’s meant a lot to be a Bison.”

… Some runs are shouts and some runs are whispers …

In 2023, Nell attended the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame Luncheon. She found her seat at table five, disappointed that her teammates were far away at table 20. But Nell’s friendly demeanor found her a new acquaintance seated close by, a 12-year-old named Kate. The two of them chatted and laughed, and Nell says she was envious of Kate’s kids meal.

Nell then met Kate’s father, Mark Olsonawski. She recognized that name. Stevie had talked about Andrea (“Andi”) Olsonawski ’01, a Bison Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, seven-time All-American, and the only four-time All-American in the outdoor heptathlon at NDSU. He had talked about her skill as a multi-event track and field athlete and her supportive, competitive nature. Nell also remembered that her former roommate Sofia Naranjo Mata ’23 had received a scholarship in Andi’s honor.

Mark established the Andi (Noel) Olsonawski Memorial Athletics Scholarship in 2020, after Andi passed away at age 41 from brain cancer. The scholarship was established for an NDSU student-athlete in the women’s track and field program, with preference to a multi-event student-athlete.

Shortly after the Hall of Fame Luncheon, Mark learned the scholarship’s next recipient: Nell Graham.

In NDSU’s Harry D. McGovern Alumni Center, Mark sits next to his wife, Jenny, and talks about Andi and her legacy. Andi’s repeated adage as she went through her cancer diagnosis — “Do your best and let God do the rest” — remains a family motto in the Olsonawski home.

“Andi was a scholarship athlete here [at NDSU],” Mark said. “It was a blessing for her to be able to receive some financial support — and then to think of all the friendships and the relationships and the opportunities that she was given, both academically and athletically, being here at NDSU was really a blessing.”

After Andi and Mark got married in 2002, they discussed their legacy, their wills, and how they intended to support their respective universities. After Andi’s passing, Mark worked with Stefanie Kelly ’98, director of athletic development at NDSU and Andi’s former track and field teammate, to develop a plan for leaving Andi’s legacy.

“We hoped our family would be a small part of these athletes’ lives to help them take one more step up their ladder of success,” Mark said in his speech at the Hall of Fame Luncheon.

Nell says that even if she hadn’t received a scholarship, she would still be fortunate to receive an education at NDSU.

“It’s hard to put into words … what scholarships can do for people,” Nell said. “Knowing that someone outside of my family and myself cares about me getting an education makes me want to do better in school and do better in track.”

… Some runs are eulogies and others celebrations.” —Dagny Scott Barrios

Andi’s family, her former teammates and classmates, and current track and field student-athletes are prisms through which her legacy continues to shine.

After Andi graduated from NDSU, she returned to the team as a graduate assistant, working alongside Stevie who had just completed his first year of coaching during her senior year. Her tremendous work ethic and energy inspired Stevie and former NDSU track and field coach Ryun Godfrey ’96 to create the “Andi Award.”

The award that started as a piece of cardstock in 2002 is now a special baton, the honor of receiving it all the more poignant after Andi’s passing. To this day, it is presented at team meetings to an athlete who “goes above and beyond the call of duty,” as Stevie describes it.

Andi was an encourager, Mark says. A supporter. A fierce competitor who “always made everybody around her better.” Bison teammates, classmates, and coaches who surrounded Andi during her time as an NDSU student-athlete supported the Olsonawski family during their most difficult times in the wake of Andi’s passing. Today, Mark; Jenny; and Mark and Andi’s four children, Noel, Aaron, Ryan, and Kate, remain proud members of the Bison community.

Mark is a wellspring — he loves to talk about Andi, his children, Jenny, his faith, the blessings in his life, his goals, his connections to NDSU and the area, and NDSU athletics. He shares that, to him, NDSU defines excellence.

As he speaks, the light above him flickers. He nods his head and knowingly looks up.

“There’s Andi,” he says and laughs, joking that she’s making sure he says the right things.

“For me, being somebody who didn’t go to school here, and Jenny [who] didn’t go to school here, through Andi’s connection there’s a feeling that I’m a part of something greater and bigger in this community,” Mark said. “I think the Bison and NDSU have done such a great job of encompassing the whole Fargo-Moorhead community and making everybody feel like it’s not just that you’re a part of a team and you’re [one of] 10 people on the team or 50 people on the team — it’s like the whole community is a part of the Bison team.”

“I never knew Andi,” Jenny said. “But I feel like I did through all of these stories and everything that Mark and the kids share. I feel very, very connected to her through the network of the Bison family.”

Andi Olsonawski '01 and daughter Kate, 2016

Mark and Jenny Olsonawski’s wedding, 2024, with kids (left to right) Noel (20), Aaron (18), Kate (13), and Ryan (16)

Being part of a team, part of a community, made all the difference for Andi, Mark, and Jenny — and now Nell and her teammates.

“The people I meet here and the experiences I’ve been given I’ll carry with me throughout my entire life,” Nell said. “I won’t remember how fast I ran or how far I threw.”

Nell’s goal after graduation reflects that same compassionate mentality — earning a master’s degree in speech-language pathology.

“I’ve always wanted a career where I’m able to make a difference in some way,” Nell said. “I want to build relationships, and I want to be able to help people.”

To cheer. To support. To take off someone’s spikes after a challenging race. To be an encourager. To be a light. To give back.

“People don’t have to give money back to student-athletes or to students — it’s a choice. I have a lot of gratitude and a lot of respect for those types of people,” Nell said. “I hope someday in my future, I can do the same thing because it really has changed my whole life coming to NDSU.”