April Bockstruck dedicated to track

If there is one lesson April Bockstruck has learned in life, it is to not let fear get the best of her.

As a member of the track and cross country teams at Lakeland High School, Bockstruck said she almost didn’t join the cross country team.

“My sister did it (cross country) and kept telling me it was hard,” she said. Although she didn’t go out for it in her freshman year, she decided to do so in her sophomore year. When asked if she is happy about her decision, Bockstruck leaves no doubt that she is.

“Oh yes! I’ve made so many friends,” she said.

Between the time when the cross country season ends in October and track begins in February, Bockstruck said it is important to still train. She and her friends met with her coach on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the off season so they could be sure they were ready for track. Dedicated to the sport she loves, she said she will train five days a week this summer while also working at McDonald’s and spend time with her friends.

In the past, Bockstruck competed in the mile, two-mile and the 800-meter events, but this year she decided to focus on different events.

“The two-mile is eight times around the track. It gets very tedious and boring,” she said. So instead she concentrated this spring on the 800 and 1,600 events. At the regional meet in Lewiston a couple of weeks ago, she finished in third place in the 800 meter with a time of two minutes, 38 seconds.

“I missed going to state by two seconds,” she said. But that is not going to discourage her. “It gives me a goal to work for next year.”

The younger of two girls, Bockstruck said she misses her sister, who is attending the University of Idaho and with whom she used to be on the Lakeland High School track team.

“Last year we ran together and that was a lot of fun,” she said.

Completing her junior year in June, Bockstruck said she is not sure what college she will attend but is considering both University of Idaho and Boise State. She has a 3.9 grade-point average and takes several difficult classes including honors English, algebra II, chemistry, U.S. history, speech, Spanish II and advanced acting.

Bockstruck said she enjoys acting and wishes she had more time to devote to it, but because her schedule for track and drama club conflict she can only have limited involvement with drama.

She tried out for several plays when she was in grade school but never was awarded a part. Then in eighth grade she took drama one quarter and landed the part of the fairy godmother in the play “Cinderella.”

She would love to continue with acting in college, but instead of an acting career would like to participate in local plays wherever she lives.

“It relaxes me being up there on stage and having people stare at you. I know it doesn’t make sense,” she said.

In high school Bockstruck has performed in some one-act plays that were written and directed by fellow students. She was awarded the female lead in two of the five plays.

She tries to sneak in drama among her busy sports and academic schedule, but said next year she will focus more on her sports in the hope she can make it to state in both cross country and track.

“I go to all the improv nights at school and after track practice I’ll go help out backstage (with the drama club),” she said.

She would like to maybe pursue a career in interior decorating or architecture.

“I’m really into the arts,” said Bockstruck, who adds that during a snow day this winter she found herself redoing her bedroom. “I looked at it and thought the room just didn’t flow anymore.”

One of her favorite pastimes is snowmobiling and dirt biking with her family. She has been dirt-biking since she was 5 and driving her own sled since she was about 7.

She said her family goes on a lot of snowmobile trips with other families and she can enjoy both snowmobiling and biking on the 12 acres where they live.

“My family is very outdoorsy,” said Bockstruck. “If I feel like camping, I can do it right there.”

She said she wishes she had raced on dirt bikes but her mom tells her that she doesn’t know her own limits and was worried she would get hurt.

“So instead I race my cousins for bragging rights,” she said.

Bockstruck said if there’s anyone in her life who has influenced her most it would have to be her mom.

“Our personalities are the same with just a few tweaks,” Bockstruck said.

She said it is her mother who taught her it is important to be happy and in doing so to make everyone around you happy.

“My mom gives confidence boosters to people she sees,” she said.

She said that she enjoys making people laugh like when she recently did somersaults all the way back to her class following an assembly.

“I love being that spontaneous person walking down the street in a Superman costume and seeing people smile,” Bockstruck said. “I don’t care what people think. If I’m happy with myself then that’s all that matters.”