Ashley Tingelstad Orth: It’s not where you start, but where you end up

by Patrick “Packy” Mader - www.mnathletes.com

“Where I attended Lake Park Audubon Elementary School, there were no organized youth sports,” says Ashley Tingelstad of her childhood in a town of 700 people located 35 miles east of Fargo, North Dakota. “I played—and loved—football at recess. In sixth grade, I remember beating my dad in a race for the first time and that’s when I knew I had some athletic ability.”

Born in 1990 in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Ashley’s father, Brent Tingelstad is a retired construction worker, and her mother, Lisa, now married to Timothy Sparks, worked in manufacturing, eventually being promoted to production manager until retiring. The family lived in the Lake Park Audubon School District which she attended until her senior year in high school with two younger siblings, Alexa and Zach.

Finally able to experience team sports in middle school, Ashley joined the volleyball and basketball teams. “My mother made me go out for track in the spring. It wasn’t that I hated it, I just was not super interested in it,” says Ashley about the sport which led her to a college scholarship.

In volleyball, Ashley played outside hitter and in basketball the 5 ft 8 inch athlete was a prolific scoring shooting guard, totaling more than 1,800 points in her high school career. While the Lake Park Audubon High School Raiders never reached the state tournament during her time there, Ashley did get to play in the 2009 Class AA Minnesota state girls’ basketball tournament her senior year. Her stepfather, a career Air Force veteran, was transferred to a base in Grand Forks, North Dakota, 115 miles away, so Ashley became a member of the Green Wave at nearby East Grand Forks High School. Despite a strong first half as the # 2 seed in the opening round of the tournament, Ashley got injured shortly before half time and the team lost the lead and the game to New London-Spicer 57-53.

It was in track and field that Ashley shone. Qualifying for the 2005 state meet in the sprints as an 8th-grader, Ashley did not place. “I have a strong work ethic, am competitive, and pushed myself to improve,” she says of the experience leading up to an improved freshman year. In 2006, Ashley placed 6th in the 200-meter dash and 4th in the always challenging 400-meter dash. As a sophomore, she claimed two runner-up medals (100- and 400-meter sprints) and 3rd place in the 200-meter sprint. Ashley’s rivals in the Class A sprints would be Megan Geyen, now a good friend, of Watertown-Mayer and Analisa Huschle, “a stud athlete” at Bagley/Fosston.

Coming so close to an individual championship only fueled Ashley’s competitive nature. It all came together for Ashley during an undefeated junior season in 2008 when she swept the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter (in a Class A state meet record of 55.83 seconds) sprints at the state meet. With teammate Toni Tollefson winning the high jump, the duo took second in the state team championship with 48 points to winner Providence Academy’s 55 points! It is particularly impressive since Lake Park Audubon did not have a track.

As a senior at East Grand Forks, Ashley came within a whisker of repeating her three titles; she won the 100- and 400-meter dashes and was sandwiched between Huschle and Geyen in the 200-meter final.

Recruited by Concordia University, St. Paul for both basketball and track, Ashley gave a verbal commitment but later found North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo more appealing.

Starting strong, Ashley was the 2010 Summit League women’s 400-meter outdoor champion and runner-up in the 200-meter dash. She struggled her sophomore year and then red-shirted the 2012-13 indoor and outdoor seasons. Rebounding with a productive year as a junior, Ashley reclaimed the 400-meter title in both indoor and outdoor Summit League competition and was instrumental in the success of the 4 x 400-meter relay team.

But it was Ashley’s senior year in 2013-14 that was the crowning achievement. She was a member of multiple relay teams which broke school records and earned 2nd team All-American honors in the 4 x 400-meter relay in both indoor and outdoor national championships. A third Summit League individual title in the 400-meter sprint and runner-up to teammate Antoinette Goodman (Burnsville) in the 200-meter dash were among her achievements. “It was an exciting year,” says Ashley. “Our indoor 4 x 400-meter relay team qualified for nationals at a last chance meet. At the outdoor regional meet [in Fayetteville, Arkansas], we ran a 3:32 and qualified for nationals. It was the first time for our relay teams. Another favorite race is when Goodman, Morgan Milbrath, myself, and Paige Stratioti [Duluth Denfeld] won the 1600-meter sprint medley at the Drake Relays [with a time of 3:47.73]. We beat the big schools like Arkansas, Baylor, and the Big Ten schools.”

Graduating with a degree in human development and family science, Ashley trained post-collegiately, hoping to qualify for the US Olympic Track and Field Trials. In 2016, she accepted a position to teach and coach at Lake Park Audubon Schools. After three years, she moved to Bertha-Hewitt for an additional two years and earned a master’s degree at Bemidji State University in 2020. Ashley was offered a job as a special education teacher and an assistant cross country and track and field coach in the Staples-Motley school district. Her husband, Derek Orth, is originally from Staples and works as an insurance agent at Orth Insurance Agency. The couple, married in 2019, has two children, Ellie and Cade.

“My relay teammates are athletes I appreciated. Two were in my wedding,” says Ashley, pointing to people influential in her life. “Without my mom, none of this would have happened. She was the person who encouraged me to look one more time at NDSU. I think I got my work ethic from her. We didn’t have a lot, but she worked hard to make our lives better. My stepdad never treated us less than his own. His presence was a blessing. And Ryun Godfrey, my college track coach, became a father figure to me. He was consistent and cared, trying to improve me as an athlete and as a person. I had some struggles and he reminded me of what I was capable.”

“Athletics became my opportunity,” Ashley concludes. “It teaches resiliency. It’s not where you start, but where you end up.”