After a successful junior season that included a sixth-place finish at the state cross country meet, Ellsworth senior Molly Ehrlich is entering her final season with a mixture of experience, motivation and excitement.
Ehrlich returns to the course looking to build on a season in which she posted a personal-record time of 19:47, won the Lyons Invitational and earned All-State Academic honors.
Now, with one final season ahead of her, Ehrlich is eager to see how much more she can accomplish.
“I can’t wait to go back to competing and doing the best that I can,” Ehrlich said. “Being with my team always comes with memories I never forget. I am also excited to get faster and see how much I can improve.”
Ehrlich spent much of the summer preparing for the season after taking several weeks off following track. Her offseason work included running and strength training, with an emphasis on developing aspects of her mechanics that may not receive as much attention during competition.
“I practiced a lot during the summer to get back into shape after taking a few weeks off after track,” Ehrlich said. “I also did lots of strength training to help work on mechanics that might not be worked on as much. Also with this I did lots of running to try to prepare for the actual season.”
While Ehrlich has established herself as one of Ellsworth’s top runners, she is also focused on making the most of her final year. Rather than putting all of her attention on results, she wants to enjoy the experience while continuing to improve as a racer.
One of her biggest areas of focus is learning to stay relaxed before and during races. Ehrlich believes having a clearer mind will allow her to race more confidently.
“This year I just want to have fun with it being my last year,” Ehrlich said. “But something I want to improve on the most is relaxing more when I go into a race. Getting out of my head so I can have a clear mind before I race would help me improve my racing.”
Ehrlich’s individual goals reflect the high expectations she has set for her final season. She hopes to return to the state meet and improve on her sixth-place finish from last year by placing sixth or higher.
She also wants another opportunity to lower her school-record time of 19:47.
“I want to be able to place sixth or higher in that meet,” Ehrlich said. “Also I want to break the school record again with a faster time than 19:47.”
For Ehrlich, however, the season will not be measured solely by individual accomplishments. She also hopes to help Ellsworth return to the state meet as a team.
“Having the team make it to state again this year is something for me as well as my teammates want to accomplish,” Ehrlich said.
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