ATHENS, Ohio — Sophomore Ellie Greenwell (Park Hills, Ky.) didn't think she'd run Division I track for Ohio. She didn't think she'd run collegiate track at all.
The distance runner only ran competitively her senior year of high school because she'd already committed to Ohio for soccer, which meant she didn't need to play club soccer that spring.
"With soccer, I played a position that was a lot of running on the field, so I would run a lot to get into shape. That's kind of how I fell in love with running, and that's what I used to stand out on the soccer field, my fitness," Greenwell said.
Greenwell came to Athens in the fall of 2023 as a defender for the soccer team. She played in 11 games her freshman year and all 20 her sophomore year. But between those seasons, Greenwell was discovered by Sarah Pease, head coach of the track and cross country teams.
Pease inquired about the possibility of Greenwell running for the Bobcats with Aaron Rodgers, the head soccer coach. She'd seen Greenwell's statistics from her single season with Notre Dame Academy, including her 2:11.92 finish in the 800-meter to shatter an 18-year school record, and knew the Bobcats could use her help.
That time earned Greenwell a third place finish in the event at the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state meet, and her 4:56.71 time in the 1,600-meter earned her fourth.
"I guess she saw that I had ran and that kind of got me curious, because I always love running and I love competing, I just didn't know if that was like a possibility to be able to do both," Greenwell said. "My freshman year, it was, and I did."
Ellie Greenwell focuses before the start of her event at the 2025 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championship.
When Greenwell laced up her spikes for the first time in seven months in February 2024, she felt jitters. However, her competitive spirit overtook her anxiety as she settled into the blocks at the Louis and Freda Stile Athletics Field House in Akron, Ohio. Greenwell didn't know what would happen when the starting gun went off, but she was going to do her best.
She sailed through that 800-meter run like a seasoned veteran and earned sixth place with a 2:13.31 finish. Later that spring, she finished fourth at the DMR in the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championship.
The first step she took out of the blocks in February opened the door to a new world for Greenwell. It reignited a passion she'd shelved for the time being and she wanted to chase it.
"There's people who don't have a good relationship with running, but for me, it was more so an outlet and an opportunity to push my body in a way and help relieve some of those stresses and anxieties of life," Greenwell said.
In the spring of 2025, Greenwell decided to pursue track and field full time for the Bobcats. She is thankful for the opportunities the Bobcats gave her on the pitch and the track. Greenwell knows she couldn't have written this path herself, and she's excited to see where it takes her.
The change is something Greenwell didn't expect, but she is grateful for it.
"I always feel better leaving (practice) than when I came. I think the stress of school and life can still be so consuming, and I look forward to practice every day because it's just an opportunity to kind of better myself and push myself in ways that are challenging but also so rewarding," she said.
She's a hidden gem that's not-so hidden anymore.
#OUohyeah
