At the heart of all sports is one thing: competition. It is the desire for athletes to win that pushes them through the difficult training and disappointing losses. Along with a competitive spirit, good athletes need drive, determination and perseverance. Stillwater Area High School graduate 2010 Jessie Diggins has all of those things and it brought her huge success in her early athletic career.

Five years ago, Diggins was a senior at SAHS, and she had the same level of coaching as all of the current Nordic skiers. However, not all current Nordic skiers will go on to be in multiple global competitions. This February, Diggins traveled to Falun, Sweden for the World Nordic Skiing Competition where she placed second. At the same competition, Caitlin Gregg placed third, marking the first time two Americans had been simultaneously in the top three at an international competition.

While Diggins is competing all over the world, she continues to be an inspiration and motivation for student athletes who not only aspire to pursue their sport, but improve. It is not hard for them either, because she was right where they are just five years ago.

Junior Sam Hanson said, “Jessie inspires me because she was put in the same position as everyone who skis at Stillwater. She had the same coaching staff, and used the same skis at the same meets. So it is inspirational because there is no reason that it can’t happen again.”

The road to Diggins’ success was not an easy one, of course. She trained for countless hours and put everything she had into the sport. Her hard work and desire for first place is a large part of the reason for her success.

Hanson said, “Jessie is known for her extreme competitiveness and her drive to win. She will never give up on achieving her dreams and she will work all day and all night to get there.”

Diggins’ journey has been an incredible one. Not only for her, but for her supporters as well. The Stillwater community has watched her race on television and given countless words of encouragement. When Diggins competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics, Chilkoot Cafe made sure to have her race on their television screens for the crowd of local fans.

Junior Cela Peterson said, “It’s really inspiring to see her success knowing where she came from. It also bring us together as a team when we get to watch and celebrate her success… She still keeps in touch with the team and has trained with us a few times.”

Diggins has been able to achieve incredible things very early into her professional career. While reaching her goals and pursuing her dreams, she has also managed to become a role model for not only the Nordic skiers at SAHS, but for any student athletes in the area.