Columbus North’s Kyleigh Wolf sprints to the finish line at the IHSAA Cross Country State Championships on Nov. 2, 2024 at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.
The Republic file photo
Both of Kyleigh Wolf’s parents attended University of Evansville, and her grandma worked at the school, so it only made sense that the Columbus North senior ended up deciding to go there.
Wolf signed a letter-of-intent last week to run cross-country and track for the Purple Aces beginning in the fall.
“I had always loved running and thought about running in college, but it wasn’t until my sophomore year that I wanted to run Division I,” Wolf said. “It was just a matter of how and when. My grandparents are from down there, and my grandma actually used to work there, so I had been there before, but I didn’t take interest in it until recently. I just started looking and tracking schools that I wanted to look at last year, and it was on my list.”
Wolf also had scholarship offers from Memphis, IU Indianapolis and Xavier. She visited all three of those schools before taking her official visit to Evansville.
“Ultimately, they have a really good nursing program,” Wolf said. “They had a 100 percent pass rate on their nursing exams. They also have a good study abroad program. Then, the coach, Dylan Anderson, just seemed really invested me in a runner. He’s new to D-I, but he had previously coached in South Carolina, so he knows what he’s doing.”
Columbus North’s Kyleigh Wolf finishes the Conference Indiana cross-county meet Sept. 21, 2024 at Ceraland.
The Republic file photo
As a junior, Wolf was the sectional champion in cross-country. Following her senior year, she ran a personal-best 18 minutes, 35 seconds for 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) to lead the Bull Dogs to a third-place team finish in the Running Lane National Championships.
In track, Wolf was a regional qualifier in the 4×800-meter relay and 1,600 last spring.
Wolf also played basketball as a freshman before giving up that sport to focus on running. However, she has helped the eighth-grade girls basketball at Northside Middle School as a student coach the past two years.
“Mrs. (athletics director Cindy) McCoy had asked me last year if I wanted to step in and help out (coach) Josh Wheatley,” Wolf said. “I kind of do it just for fun, just to be around basketball. Northside gave me so many opportunities. Mr. (Evan) Burton, the principal, and Mrs. McCoy have always given me great opportunities, so I wanted to give back.”
Kyleigh Wolf
Wolf is set to become the second sibling in her family to play Division I sports. Her brother Dathan, a Columbus East graduate, swam at Valparaiso the past two years before retiring after last season to focus on academics.
Kyleigh also is the second North senior girls runner to commit to a D-I program, joining Carys Glyn-Jones, who is headed to Butler. They and their teammates currently are training for the upcoming indoor and outdoor track seasons.
“I’d really like to make it to our indoor state meet in the (distance medley relay) and the 1,600 and 3,200,” Wolf said. “Then, I have those same goals for outdoor track, with the 4×800 and the 1,600 and 3,200.”
