Taking punches is part of the deal at Minnesota Top Team.

For Lauren Rognerud, what began as a way to stay active during college has turned into something much bigger: a national championship boxing career and aspirations of one day competing in the Olympics.

“I feel like I was meant to keep boxing,” Rognerud said. “I knew I wanted to keep boxing. Once I moved back here, I was like, I got to get back in the gym.”

That decision has paid off.

Earlier this year, the unranked Rognerud captured a National Golden Gloves title, becoming the first woman from the Upper Midwest to win the prestigious amateur boxing championship.

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The victory marked a breakthrough moment for Rognerud, whose countless hours of training and thousands of punches thrown in the gym culminated in a historic achievement.

“It feels good to prove somebody wrong a little bit if they didn’t think I could do it,” she said.

Rognerud’s experience in the ring continues to grow. She has compiled 20 amateur bouts and is now setting her sights on an even bigger goal: earning a chance to compete in the Olympics.

While that dream may still be years away, her coach, Roy Dunlap, believes her left-handed style gives her an advantage against opponents.

“The world loves a lefty. I’m training a lefty,” Dunlap said. “Lefties are frustrating. Lefties that know how to be lefties, they’re difficult to fight. I don’t care who you are. She’s got that.”

For Rognerud, success is measured by more than championships and medals.

She says boxing has strengthened her confidence and helped her overcome challenges both inside and outside the ring.

“Just knowing that if I can face those challenges there in the ring, nothing else in other aspects of my life are ever going to be as stressful,” Rognerud said. “It’s reassuring that I can do hard things.”

The Olympic dream remains a work in progress, but Rognerud has already proven she belongs among the nation’s top amateur boxers. And with a national title on her résumé and an experienced coach in her corner, she hopes her biggest accomplishments are still ahead.

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