Bio

Ayla (Mitchell) Helland transferred to UW-Oshkosh from the University of Minnesota and quickly became a standout women's cross country and track & field performer at the conference and national levels for the Titans from 2007-09.

The New Richmond High School graduate totaled three All-America awards and two conference titles in cross country while compiling two national titles, five All-America citations and six conference championships in track & field. Helland won National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III titles in 2009 for the indoor mile and outdoor 5,000-meter runs.

In cross country, Helland was named the 2008 and 2009 Division III Midwest Region Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference additionally selected Helland as both its Athlete and Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2009.

Helland won WIAC cross country titles in 2007 and 2009 while being the league runner-up in 2008. The two-time Division III Midwest Region champion finished 13th at the NCAA national meet in 2007 and third in both 2008 and 2009.

During the 2009 track & field season, Helland was named the USTFCCCA's Division III Indoor Track Scholar-Athlete of the Year as well as the Division III Midwest Region Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year.

Helland won WIAC indoor track & field titles in the distance medley relay in 2008 and in both the mile and 3,000-meter runs in 2009. She earned first-place finishes at the 2009 WIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship in the 1,500- and 5,000-meters runs along with the 3,200-meter relay.

Helland received Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America in both 2009 and 2010. She was also chosen as the female winner of UW-Oshkosh John Taylor Senior Scholar-Athlete Award in 2009.

Helland, who was selected to the WIAC's All-Centennial Team in both women's cross country and women's track & field in 2012, received her bachelor's degree from UW-Oshkosh in 2010. She was inducted into the New Richmond High School Hall of Fame in 2018.

Helland taught five years in the Somerset and New Richmond school districts before deciding to stay at home to raise her children Kenna, Emmy, Jovie and Bo. Helland, along with her husband Travis, a former UW-Oshkosh baseball player, live in New Richmond, where they design, develop, buy and sell real estate properties.