Thanksgiving Summers Expresses Much Thanks For Positive Lifestyle
When Wolf Point native Sierra Summers crossed the finish line in third place at the NJCAA Division II national cross country meet to earn All-America status, her journey to that accomplishment was probably longer than any of the other contestants that day in Richland, Va.
After battling addiction, Summers can truly celebrate her latest athletic accomplishments this Thanksgiving.
“I’m really thankful,” Summers said during a phone interview from Dawson Community College. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to come here. I had a really great cross country season.”
Not feeling well prior to the race at nationals, she remembers praying with teammates prior to the race. She took the time to thank God for watching her on her road to a healthy lifestyle.
“My sunglasses had tears on them after,” Summers said. “And I don’t remember that I was crying.”
After graduating from high school, Summers struggled with an unhealthy lifestyle from about 20182022. Her problems included alcohol, marijuana and meth use.
“I was really having a hard time with alcohol and drug addiction,” she said. “I would drink any alcohol from vodka to whiskey. I would drink anything.”
She also got into the habit of couch surfing from one friend to another friend’s place. In addition, she was being introduced to a new group of people, a bad crowd. Although she had negative experiences with meth before, she felt pressured into trying the drug again. This time, she had a different reaction.
“It was bad because I liked it,” Summers said. “From then on, I felt addicted.”
Her father had her admitted to a treatment facility in Sheridan, Wyo., but she wasn’t ready for the help and tried to escape a couple of times.
Short times in jail included for the charges of underage drinking and endangering the welfare of a child. “I was in and out of jail a lot,” she admitted.
Even after having her first child, she still struggled with addiction and substances were easy to obtain. “I loved her so much, but I had these addictions,” Summers explained.
Her life started to change, partly due to the support from friends Hannah Struttmann and Kateri Rush. In addition, her father and brother Peyton started to encourage her to run and play basketball again.
Summers experienced weeks of sobriety, but she then fell back into bad habits. In early 2022, she attended a party and woke up with some guy she didn’t know laying near her. “I was thinking the worse possible things,” Summers said. “I knew that I didn’t want to live this life anymore.”
She explains that Struttmann told her about the blessings of turning your life over to God. “I thought that’s what I did on that day,” Summers said. “I’ve had a stretch of sobriety since then.”
Summers started to attend outpatient treatment at Spotted Bull Recovery and graduated from a wellness court program. She took classes at Fort Peck Community College and started working at a local store.
She finished first at many distance runs during the summer of 2024 and then was offered a chance to run for Dawson Community College. She now has a second daughter and is thankful that she has been able to watch her brother excel in sports as well.
“Every since I put God first, he showed me what was there,” Sierra explains.
She enjoys reading her Bible again and encourages others to read the book of Mark for inspiration.
Despite being ranked only 17th and fighting illness, Summers capped her cross country season by finishing third at the national meet in early November.
“It was a good feeling. It felt wonderful,” Summers said of the placing. “I thank God for getting me through.”
Her plans include earning a general studies degree. “I want to keep training and keep my grades up,” she said. She hopes to then attend a four-year school to obtain a degree in addiction.
She wants people to also appreciate how great life can be. “I want to be an addiction counselor so I can help others,” she explained.
