Fighting terrain, finding a consistent pace and battling for position along the course are struggles for every cross country runner.

In addition to those, Powell High School freshman Jordyn Nelson has had to find a way to stay on course due to her limited vision, which has resulted in her gaining a companion and guide for her races this year; PHS special education teacher and running enthusiast David Holland, who has formed a special bond — including a love of Pringles — with the first year Panther runner.

Nelson was born with a condition called optic nerve hypoplasia, or OPH, alongside a case of nystagmus, which both affect her eyes.

OPH is a condition in which the optic nerve in the eye is smaller than normal, while nystagmus is a condition in which the eye has involuntary, rhythmic movements.

With these conditions, Nelson is considered to be low vision, which means that her vision cannot be corrected by glasses, surgery or medication, but she is not considered legally blind.

In her case, Nelson is able to see objects near to her, but is unable to see in her peripheral vision. She wears glasses throughout the day that keep her eyes from getting fatigued, as fatigue results in her vision getting more difficult and her eyes beginning to shake.

“I’m nearsighted,” Nelson said. “If I take my glasses off long enough, my eyes start to shake.”

Because of her conditions, Nelson works hard in the classroom to make sure her grades are up, starting with where she is positioned in the classroom to see the board.

“I sit at the front of every class,” Nelson said. 

She said she is able to see darker colors the best, which typically means that she can see black and dark blue, while she struggles to see brighter colors such as yellow and orange.

“She’s a good kid. She works hard, she believes in herself, so she gets good grades too,” Holland said.

This allows her to succeed in the classroom as well as on the basketball court and the cross country course.

LOVE OF SPORTS

Ever since she was 4 years old, Nelson has had a love of sports, participating in basketball before joining the cross country team at Powell Middle School in seventh grade.

In middle school, Nelson did not have a guide runner to help her along the way, typically relying on coaches along with her parents Trevor and Kaela to keep her on track as she struggled to see the small markers along the course.

“My parents went to every meet. I also had two coaches, they would stand at trouble spots like mud and stuff like that,” Nelson said.

She has carried that passion into high school. She joined the Powell Panther cross country team this fall and has been able to continue her love for running.

“I was nervous when she started because her safety is our number one concern,” coach Ashley Hildebrand said. “She’s been a go-getter, that’s for sure. She does all the workouts that we do, and we don’t make any modifications to that stuff.”

Transitioning into high school has led to longer, more difficult courses, resulting in the coaching staff searching for a guide runner to run alongside Nelson in her races.

FINDING A GUIDE

Starting out the season, Nelson thought she would not need a guide runner.

“She didn’t really want a guide runner because she was like, I don’t want people to think I’m different at all,” Hildebrand said. “But I said ‘you’re an inspiration to people because you just get after it.’”

Enter Holland, who was approached by Hildebrand and Tracy McArthur to serve as a guide during particularly difficult races to ensure that Nelson stayed on course and did not stumble on any difficult obstacles.

“Coach Hildebrand and coach McArthur approached me, and I’ve been training throughout the year with my own races,” Holland said. “I’ve been in pretty good running shape, they just asked me if I’d be willing to come out and be a guide runner … I’m a passionate runner, and so anything I can do to help any student I was like, ‘yeah, let’s do it.’”

Hildebrand said Holland was approved by the Wyoming High School Activities Association to serve as Nelson’s guide runner, as the coaches were particularly worried about specific courses including the first course of the season Nelson raced in Buffalo on Sept. 6.

“It’s been nice [running with David]. It’s prevented a lot of shin splints and stuff like that,” Nelson said. “The Buffalo course was very uneven on the big loop.”

The duo have been racing together nearly every race this year, but were faced with some criticism at a race in Lewistown, Montana, when a couple of spectators yelled that Holland wasn’t able to help Nelson in the race.

That led to Holland getting a T-shirt specially made that he wears to every race to tell people he is a guide.

Ignoring the spectators during the race, Nelson and Holland charged through the final half mile to the finish line, resulting in Nelson’s personal best time at that point of 27 minutes and 27 seconds. She then set her current personal best time the following week in Worland at 27:02.

RUNNING HER RACE

Jumping out of the gate on the courses is a particular strength for Nelson, who gets off to a strong start alongside Holland who helps keep with her pace throughout the race. He is not allowed to set a pace for her to reach a goal and is only able to run alongside her.

Cross country races typically see a crowded field at the start, but Nelson does not see it as challenging to find her place in the field.

“For me, I honestly don’t think it’s chaotic, but I also have to deal with a lot of chaos in my life anyways with my disability,” Nelson said.

“I also have a little brother who’s very annoying,” she added jokingly.

The two continually run side by side, as Holland is unable to either give her an advantage or disadvantage running alongside her. He can still help her keep her spirits up and warn her of impending obstacles she may encounter.

“The biggest thing I’ve told her is I don’t want to be a nuisance out there, so let me know how I can help you be the most independent runner out there,” Holland said. “I just stand alongside her, not pacing her, but just whatever speed she’s running and just letting her know that we’re about to go down this hill, or we’re about to go on a gravel road, the terrain’s going to be uneven so let’s watch our footing.”

As her guide, Holland said he is able to grab her elbow at times in order to keep her on course, or even offer his elbow to give her an option to stay upright if it is a difficult portion of the race.

“We don’t see her as different at all. She just sometimes can use a guide runner, but it is hard to see. Like Liam (Taylor) got disqualified at state last year because he went off course because he wasn’t looking for the flags, because a lot of times our courses are just marked by little flags and sometimes they’re hard to see,” Hildebrand said. “It’s good to have somebody to help her with that changing terrain and then again, keep her safe more than anything.”

Nelson admitted that with the longer courses in high school, she particularly struggles with the middle portion of her race, but Holland continually offers support to help her push through it and finish.

“He’s definitely a motivator,” she said. “Which helps because my second mile really kills me, because I don’t have the motivation to finish it without walking.”

Ending the race is a particular strength of Nelson’s.

“The girl has got a kick the last half mile or so of every race,” Holland said. “She’s turning it up full throttle … One of the things we plan out is I sprint alongside her, and as soon as she crosses the finish line I grab her arm so that way she can slow down and doesn’t have to worry about losing her footing.”

SNACK BONDING

One area in particular the duo have bonded in is their love of a snack off the course, with Nelson and Holland sharing a particular love for Pringles.

Nelson said her love for Pringles came from a time when her great grandma had Covid several years ago, as it was the only snack her great-
grandma could eat and has turned into one of her favorite snacks since.

Then one bus ride Nelson forgot money to purchase the snack, before Holland offered to buy her some, which led to an early season personal best time.

“I wanted Pringles really bad and I forgot money,” Nelson said. “So he bought me some, and then I PR’d and so now that’s a big thing.”

Holland said he also shares a huge love for Pringles, as it provides them with an opportunity to snack on race day.

“I’ve got a huge joy for Pringles as well,” Holland said. “Every week she keeps improving and getting faster, it’s been awesome.”

IMPROVING MOVING FORWARD

Nelson has served as part of the Panther junior varsity team, but has already set her sights on improving to end this season to help prepare for next year, starting with the Pinnacle Bank Powell Panther Invitational today (Thursday) at the Powell Golf Club.

“For this meet I want to get under 27, maybe even under 26:30,” Nelson said. “Since this is our last regular season meet, this would be my time to beat at conference also.”

Heading into the rest of the year and even into next summer, Nelson has plans to continue improving and she’s even hoping to move towards a varsity position next year.

“Next summer I’m going to do three practices a week and then on the weekend a two-a-day,” Nelson said. “Easy 2 to 3 miles during the week, then speeding up pacing for the first one and then running 6 miles with my aunt for the second one … I’m hoping to make varsity next year.”