Meet-a-Bison: Chad Bergan
NDSU track and cross country runner Chad Bergan is no stranger to success. The junior from Valley City, N.D., has excelled both on the track field and in the academic field.
On Feb. 4, he broke a 24-year-old school record, one of the oldest in NDSU indoor track history, in the 1000-meter run.
In a few years, he plans to conquer dentistry school, too.
Bergan attributes his success to two things in his life: his family and his involvement in NDSU track and cross country.
Bergan’s family is his primary base of support. They have always been close and have been with him every step of the way in his track and cross country careers.
They sacrifice time with him during seasons, but never complain. Bergan said they are his No. 1 fans, and he doesn’t think he would be where he is today without their unconditional support and backing.
His family is why Bergan became a runner in the first place. When he was in eighth grade, he decided football wasn’t the sport for him and allowed cross country to enter his life.
“ My brother was in cross country, and I just thought I’d like to do a sport with him,” Bergan said. “It ended up working out. I won a couple state titles.”
When he arrived at NDSU, Bergan said his cross country and track teammates became like a second family to him.
Bergan said the upperclassmen on the teams — when Bergan was a new member on the team — showed him and the rest of his freshmen teammates how good NDSU track could be if they all worked hard and worked together. That knowledge is something he, as one of the team’s current upperclassmen, wants to pass on to his younger teammates.
“ They are your best friends,” Bergan said. “You’re hanging out with them for three hours every day, and then you’ll spend every single weekend with them.”
Bergan also wants the younger runners on the team to know their teammates will also be their biggest competitors. He doesn’t look at this aspect negatively, however.
Bergan said while he does compete against his teammates — he narrowly beat Jedd Danielson when breaking the 1000-meter school record — the competitiveness between them is also what inspires him to work harder and do better.
He said whether they are in practice or at a meet, they always push each other to the limit and force each other to take their game to the next level.
Coach Don Larson has also noticed the friendship and competitiveness among the athletes to be positive rather than negative.
“There’s always going to be those friendly rivalries amongst teammates, but then there’s always going to be that group who’s sticking up for you,” Larson said.
Bergan and his teammates also support each other in their schoolwork.
The tradition of good academics on the track team has pushed Bergan to excel in school despite missing many classes when the team is on the road. In order to do this, he tries to look at the long bus and plane rides like a big, long study hall.
“ If one of your teammates sitting with you is doing schoolwork, it makes it a lot easier to do it, too,” Bergan said. “You all have to make up for what you’re missing.”
Whether it’s on the track or in the classroom, most people feel Bergan has proven himself to be a successful member of the team.
Bergan, however, feels his success is due to the wealth of opportunities and support his membership in track and cross country has offered him.
Simply put, he said, “I don’t know where I’d be without NDSU track.”