In January’s Dr. Sander Invitational Katelyn Tuohy lit up the Armory Track and Field Center in New York by breaking the indoor mile record. That alone is cause for recognition, until you realize that is not the first national record she has broken, on that same track. In January of 2019, almost four years prior to the day, she set the national high school record in the 3000 meter run. A beneficiary of covid eligibility waivers, Katelyn will have 2 full years of collegiate track eligibility remaining after the 2023 season concludes. But if she were to stop right now, her name would have to go down as one of the greats. And if she does stick around in the age of NIL, she is one of the few track athletes positioned to profit from it. Katelyn is not the first track & field athlete to dominate the college ranks, but she might go down as the best. And what matters is that we should have seen this coming for a while now.

Katelyn is the greatest high school distance runner of all time

The title of the GOAT (greatest of all time) is normally debatable, but Katelyn didn’t leave much room for doubt in her high school career. As someone who actually coached against Katelyn in her local area at the high school level for a year, she was not only in a class by herself, but a world of her own. At high school meets, she was racing the record books. And everyone else was honored to watch her do it. When it comes to national high school records Katelyn set 4 of them, and that does not include her unofficial cross country 5k national record. Read that whole sentence again if you need to. Katelyn wasn’t just winning more than anyone we had ever seen in high school, she was running faster than anyone had ever done, in almost any event she ran.

And Katelyn Tuohy’s track record of winning is unmatched. Without listing all of her high school track championships… she was the Nike Cross Country Nationals (NXN) champion 3 years in a row and the Gatorade Female XC athlete of the year 3 years in a row. I conveniently saved the best for last, that she was honored as the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year as a sophomore in high school! Make a note that the title mentions nothing about track or cross country, because her dominance was considered so elite, that she was the best athlete in the nation, regardless of sport in their eyes. 

Katelyn chose the right college program

Five star recruits can basically write their own ticket in recruiting. Katelyn Tuohy was the brightest of 5 stars, and as a New Yorker it might seem surprising that she chose to commit to North Carolina State to run in college. But the Lady Wolfpack of NC State have been building a distance running powerhouse for quite some time, and the year prior to her committing, they went fifth at the Division 1 National cross country meet. None of the teams that beat them were on the east coast, and they were returning several of their top runners.

The truth for any recruit is that your best athletic fit will be a team where you can contribute immediately but are not the best athlete in your event on the team. NC State was about the best she could do to accomplish that, and it is the reason why she finished second on her team at the 2021 Cross Nationals, but a member of the national championship team. This season has run new personal bests in the cross country 5k, which is a big deal for a national record holder. And led her team to the national title in cross with an individual title to match. Katelyn is flourishing in the NC State distance program, and it is scary to think that the best is likely yet to come.

Katelyn’s dominance is just getting started

Katelyn Tuohy is likely better than you remember her being and that is because fans in the track community tend to have amnesia when it comes to athlete performances. When Katelyn first came to college, she did not have any individual wins through her first season of competition. To some degree the track and field community started to forget about her. However, Katelyn is not just another 5 star recruit, she is the LeBron James of high school distance running. Since the 2022  outdoor ACC championships, Katelyn not only won the 1500 at that event, but she has won every collegiate event she has entered since, through to January of 2023. The only runners who have ever crossed a finish line ahead of her in any race, are non-collegiate professional runners, and there are only 3 names on that list.

 The Bottom Line

As a high school coach I remember watching the father of one of my athletes rush into the stands late to watch a sectional championship event. He asked “did I miss her run?” And what he was saying is did he miss watching Katelyn Tuohy run. He had a son on my team, and he was breathing heavy and hustling to his seat to watch someone else’s child compete. Katelyn Tuohy is that good. In fact, she is that great. Considering she has not lost to any collegiate runner since before last year’s outdoor championships, I’m starting to wonder if she ever will. And with more than two year’s remaining of collegiate eligibility, she appears to have recaptured her high school form, as the greatest runner at her level, that we have ever seen.

KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.

Use my FREE recruitment guide to get templates, checklists, and answers to all of your recruiting questions.