New Rockford’s Kelsie Belquist is now a Trojan.
The University of Southern California track and field team announced on Monday that Belquist has signed with the program. Her primary event is 400-meter hurdles.
It comes after two seasons at Nebraska.
Belquist was a Big Ten champion and NCAA All-American as a sophomore. She placed sixth at nationals in the 400 hurdles. Her best time in the event is 55.24.
She was also part of a 4×400 relay team that took third at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships and 10th at nationals.
Belquist continues what’s been a meteoric rise since sitting out her senior year of high school with a torn ACL. She honored a commitment to Nebraska that was made after she set multiple records at the North Dakota state meet as a junior.
Belquist made it to the Big Ten Championships in relays as a freshman, then returned to hurdles as a sophomore and took off from there. She achieved her goal of becoming a Big Ten champion and has even mentioned a long-term goal of making it to the Olympics.
Nebraska placed fifth out of 17 teams at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships this spring. USC, Belquist’s new school, placed third. The New Rockford native is now headed all the way to Los Angeles to a school that has nearly twice the student population of Nebraska.
USC women’s track and field won team national championships in 2001, 2018 and 2021. The men’s team won its 27th national title in 2025, though it was the program’s first since 1976.
Belquist is daughter of Elliott Belquist, athletic director at New Rockford-Sheyenne Public School and head coach of the football, girls’ basketball and track and field teams. Her older brother is former UND wide receiver Bo Belquist and her younger sister is a state champion in track and field herself, Emmie Belquist.
Kelsie still has her junior and senior years of college left to add to the already impressive rack of accomplishments.