THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: March 12, 2014

With an open mind, Rhianna Grossman just went for it on Saturday afternoon.

And before she realized it, she had it all to herself.

GROSSMAN, A redshirt junior at Carroll College in Helena, Mont., won the NAIA Indoor women's national title in the 3,000-meter run on Saturday afternoon in Geneva, Ohio, finishing in 9 minutes, 48.26 seconds - 10 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, Lila Klopfenstein of College of Idaho.

"I really went into the race with an open mind," said Grossman, who graduated from Lake City High in Coeur d'Alene in 2010. "I was ranked second going into it, but felt like I had a good shot to win the whole thing. I decided mentally that if it was close, I'd just go for it in the final two laps and hope for the best."

That's exactly what she got.

"Once I finished, I was just really surprised that nobody was around me and that I'd beaten the second-place girl (Klopfenstein) by 11 seconds. I was kind of in shock. I really wanted to win. My previous time at nationals, I was the runner-up, so I really, really wanted to be a national champion. When it finally came, it was really cool."

Grossman is the first distance runner to claim a national title since Carroll revived its track and field program four years ago.

"It's been a great experience," Grossman said. "Coming here as a freshman, the first year they had track, to see the progression and how the talent has skyrocketed. My freshman year, we took six to nationals and had 27 this year. Growing in that size has been just incredible. It's pretty cool to be the first one ever, and it's really awesome. It's a great honor. I couldn't have done this without my coaches, friends, family and teammates."

As a member of the distance medley team, Grossman ran the anchor leg on a third-place finisher for Carroll.

"It was definitely a great weekend," Grossman said. "Especially for the entire team."

SHE WILL continue with distance running in the spring during the outdoor season, as well as the steeplechase - where she finished third at nationals last year.

"It's one of the tougher races, because it just wears on you," said Grossman, who is majoring in elementary education. "The first couple of laps, it's not too bad. You've really got to be tough mentally, because it's a mental race. You've got to think and have a strategy."

The steeplechase is 3,000 meters long, with five barriers to hurdle on each lap and a short water jump.

One false move in the event cost her a shot at a national title last year.

"I was tied for first, then hit one of the barriers with my knee and totally tumbled and finished third," Grossman said. "With nationals (May 22-24) in (Gulf Shores) Alabama this year, I'm going to have to take a different outlook. Here in Helena, it's not the warmest, so it's going to be kind of a shock for us. It might be kind of an advantage to have that water jump to kind of cool off with that."

Not that North Idaho spring weather didn't contribute to that either.

"It feels like it makes you tougher," Grossman said. "When we went to Ohio, the guy who rounds us up before the race asked if any of us warmed up outside - and I was the only one."

On that day, it was about 30 degrees, with pouring rain and snow.

"It was actually warmer there than it was in Helena that day," Grossman said. "When we're training, it might be raining, snowing or a mix. Mentally, it's just tougher going out in the negative weather. We're outside every day and it really prepares you for the outdoor year."

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.