For the past two seasons, Morgan Erler has been one of Northwest Nazarene University's best cross-country runners. She has been running competitively for a number of years now and has a long history of how she came to love the sport.
 
For nine years she participated in gymnastics. After that she decided to try softball. Unfortunately, during a basketball game in P.E. class, she fractured her pinky finger. The finger swelled so bad that she was unable to wear her glove for softball. Though she couldn't participate in softball anymore, she still desired to be involved in an extracurricular activity of some kind. Ultimately, she ended up joining track for the first time during her freshman year of high school and has stuck with this sport ever since.
 
Erler grew up in a military family and has moved a total of eleven times since she was born. Having her dad as part of the Navy caused their family to move a lot. With all these moves, the longest she has ever lived in one place was three years, which was in Florida during elementary school. However, with college life, she will exceed her longest stay of three years.
 
Her favorite place she has lived was Japan, primarily because of the unique culture and community. With access to both the ocean and mountains nearby, she explains the area as being beautiful and enjoyable. She spent two years in Japan during her junior and senior years of high school. Although she doesn't speak any Japanese (besides "hi" and "thank you"), she explains the community as being tight knit and kind. 
 
The best part of her experience of being on a sports team is the memories and relationships that are formed with her teammates. Two fellow extremely talented runners, and some of Erler's closest friends on the team, Olivia Klein and Keelin Stewart, say that Erler is an upbeat person who just loves to have fun. Klein says that every road trip comes with new and unique memories and more cherished experiences. For example, there was one time when they had a bus driver who was a very interesting character - he kept pulling over, making funny comments, singing along to songs, and even whistle blowing. This all made the ride very entertaining.
 
There was another bus ride, eight hours long, where Erler and Stewart could not sleep so they talked until 1:00 a.m. "She's one of those people that you can just talk to about anything, and she'll understand," says Stewart. Both girls describe Erler as talented, motivated, and as a good people person.
 
Last semester, in spring of 2023, the cross-country team ran a 10K race while the sky was illuminated with a beautiful golden sunset. Even though it was a long race, Erler mentions that this was one her favorite races. Erler makes each race more entertaining in her own way, and one of these ways being to splash herself with water during the race.
 
During this 10K, it was extremely hot outside, and the runners were provided water on each lap and even if she didn't need it, she would take it just because of the enjoyment of splashing it on herself. About a quarter the way into the race, Erler was not feeling well due to a bad stomachache. In times like these, she takes the opportunity to speak to God and asks Him to help her through, knowing He is there with her. After speaking with God and taking a moment to calm down internally, she made it through the rest of the race.
 
The following day she ran a 5K race. However, this race was more difficult because she had injured herself on the previous 10K race and she was unable to walk well. The athletic trainer tried everything possible to help her including compression pants, massages, strengthening exercises, and electrode stem therapy. After all the medical treatments, she got to a point where she could 'kind of walk,' as she describes it. Despite the pain, Erler still competed in the race and pushed through all the laps, refusing to give up even when the coaches told her she could take breaks. She came in last place, which was frustrating and tough for her mostly because she is highly competitive.
 
On October 21^st of this year, the cross-country runners competed in Alaska for the GNAC (Great Northwest Athletic Conference) Championships. Erler finished 16^th in this race, leading the Nighthawks to an eighth-place finish as a team. This race holds a spot as another one of her favorite races because of it being located in Alaska, having a totally different feel to it. Although it was cold and the course was bumpy and extremely windy, this new experience was part of what made it fun and challenged her skills yet again.
 
Erler's coach, Greg Mitchell, explains that Erler "has big goals" and is "motivated by chasing those running dreams," like winning All American status and some GNAC titles. Erler believes in herself and trusts herself. Most of her motivation comes from herself internally and she doesn't want to let anyone down, especially her coaches or teammates. It takes a lot to stop her from competing and when it comes to race day, she and her bubbly personality will be all in and focused on the race. "When the gun goes off, she's a fighter," says Mitchell. She takes her sport seriously and that's how she gets to the great standing that she is in.  
 
Erler has a well-rounded personality and a lot of support from fellow teammates, classmates, coaches, and professors. With her current track record, it is believed by her coaches and teammates that she could be one of the best women's distance runners in NNU's history by the time she graduates. At such a young age and with this only being her second year of collegiate running, she has achieved a lot. The next few years at NNU will surely be an exciting time for Erler on the cross country course and on the track.