After a shining career at Superior High School, including 2 trips to Wisconsin State for cross country, Elena Almonte announced her commitment to run at the Division 1 level on Instagram. The stand out athlete will be continuing her athletic and academic career at Valparaiso University this upcoming fall. 

After lots of debate on whether to run or not at the next level, when the opportunity running at Valparaiso University presented itself, Almonte couldn’t pass it up.  On April 15th 2026, she officially signed to Valparasio. 

Valparaiso is located just over an hour south of Chicago in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is also one of Indiana’s 10 division 1 level schools. 

Academically, Almonte will be pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, a program in which Valparaiso is ranked within the top 15 nationwide.

Almonte originally began running cross country her freshman year as a way to stay in shape leading up to basketball season. However it blossomed into so much more. By her junior year she was quitting basketball to focus solely on cross country and track.  

Both her junior and senior year, Almonte represented Superior High School at the cross country state meet at Ridges Golf Course at Wisconsin Rapids.

“I wish I could talk to freshman Elena now, because I know she would just truly be in awe of what I’ve become and everything I’ve accomplished,” Almonte said.

Almonte is excited to see what the future holds and travel with the team to new places.