Ella Woehlcke’s senior season did not start as planned. The Mount Saint Joseph Academy upperclassman missed all of August and the beginning of September with a shin injury.
She took a mature approach to getting back on the track. A slow and steady rehab to avoid re-injury allowed her to take a mental break and enjoy the process of the sport.
When championship time came around, Woehlcke was ready. She won the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies championship, finished second in District 1-3A and fifth at states.
Woehlcke is The Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media 2023 Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
“This season I didn’t get any PRs, I didn’t get anything special, but it was definitely a breakthrough in my mentality,” Woehlcke said. “It gave me a lot of confidence knowing I can do things and I don’t have to be the best every time. You can still use your heart to win things or do well in things. It’s not all about talent every day. It’s about the heart and effort you put into everything.”
Woehlcke’s victory in the AACA championship was her third straight league first-place finish since transferring from Springside Chestnut Hiller after her freshman year.
“It was a different feeling each time,” the Collegeville native said. “Sophomore year everyone was showing me the ropes and I was just figuring it out still. That was when I got into my confidence a little bit. Junior year I just pushed through and had fun with it with the team and everyone. My teammate, Maggie Murphy, who was here for my sophomore and junior years, we had a really fun dynamic together. Senior year it was an amazing, fun ending to a good career.”
In her three seasons at the Mount, she was constantly at the top of the leaderboard in the district championships. She finished top five as a sophomore, first as a junior and second this season as a senior.
“Sophomore year I was timid, not really confident in my ability,” she said. “Junior year – that was my favorite race, the best race I’ve ever had, I think. I beat someone out at the end. This year I had really no expectations because I was hurt for most of coming into the season. I just thought whatever I could do is what I could do.”
Woehlcke had a big improvement at the state championships during her senior season. She placed just in the top 25 as a sophomore and 18th as a junior before climbing all the way to fifth as a senior.
“It was a pretty big jump,” she said of her performance in the PIAA-3A state championships. “That course is really hit or miss. People have good days or bad days. You could always have a really good day or a bad day. I went into it with a really good mental aspect and that helped me a lot.
“I went into the race not knowing what to expect, just pushing as hard as I could. With that course, it’s really hilly and you really need a strong base. I just knew a lot of other girls were training really hard and I just decided to go all out there and see what I can do. Honestly, fifth was surprising. I did not expect to get fifth. I was really happy with it. I always look back at races and think of what I could have done better or worse, but it was honestly a really cool experience and I did not think I’d be able to place that high. Also, my team, placed really well there. That was a really cool experience. I was running for more than just myself.”
In addition to Woehlcke’s individual success, she led Mount Saint Joseph Academy to a great season as a team. The Magic won the AACA title for the second time in Woehlcke’s three years (2021), finished third in the district and fourth in the state.
“With my injury, I was like, ‘this year’s about the team. I’m just going to try to get these freshmen going and try to pump everyone up and everything,’” she said. “It ended up my focus on the team helped my own individual performance because I relied on more than just myself.
“It was cool to win the league. After the league we realized we didn’t want to stop there. We could do more. At districts I think we got third. We just realized we had a bunch of young people that worked so hard on our team. We really wanted to make it to states and we made it. Then at states we got fourth, which is crazy, because there’s a bunch of really big schools and our school is so tiny, barely in the division, and we got fourth out of all these big schools. We were so excited. I knew that going in and I think it pushed me a lot.”
After the high school season, Woehlcke competed at Regionals in New York. She finished second to earn a spot at Nationals in Oregon.
“I was just excited to be there for the whole experience,” she said of Nationals. “They flew me out to Oregon and it was just really cool at the Nike headquarters. I didn’t place my best there, but I had a really fun experience and I think it added to the sport as a whole, just how much fun you can have with it.”
Woehlcke is running winter track for the Magic and will run outdoor track in the spring. She’s focused on strength training to improve her times and her main goal is to be at her best for the outdoor track state championships at the end of May.
Woehlcke will continue her academic and athletic careers at the University of Virginia. She committed last May after visiting the school. She instantly felt at home with the campus and the team and it fit her criteria of being within driving distance.
She plans to run mid-distances – the 800-meter to 1600-meter, 3K and cross country – for the Cavaliers.
The Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery 2023 Girls Cross Country All-Area Teams
First team
Gwen Hamilton, Archbishop Wood
Riley Rooney, Central Bucks South
Lillian DiCola, Hatboro-Horsham
Amelia Ogawa, Lower Moreland
Ella Woehlcke, Mount Saint Joseph Academy
Ashley Landis, Pennridge
Elaina Rainwater, Phil-Mont Christian Academy
Second team
Lilly Norcross, Central Bucks East
Abigail Kolbe, Central Bucks West
Molly Thomas, Methacton
Katie Westmoreland, Mount Saint Joseph Academy
Bailey Wagner, North Penn
Taylor Burkett, Pennridge
Veronica Gula, Pennridge
Honorable mention
Central Bucks West: Ella Lentini
Gwynedd Mercy Academy: Reese Miller
Lower Moreland: Annie Moniz
Mount Saint Joseph Academy: Charli Schoen
North Penn: Sophia Schell
Springfield Township: Ella Walsh
Upper Dublin: Faith Castronuovo
