ROCKTON—Ashley Kentner discerned that what makes Isabelle Molitor such a great athlete is her drive, her focus and her positivity.
The Hononegah girls track and field head coach probably couldn’t have picked a better trio of traits. After all, setting yourself up on the leaderboard as one of fastest distance runners in Indians’ history isn’t the work of a slouch.
“Isabelle is incredible at setting goals for herself and doing everything she possibly can to reach those goals,” Kentner continued. “Whether it's in practice or taking care of herself at home, she's always got a plan and she's always doing her best to get there.”
All of the hard work has proved to pay off for Molitor as will continue her cross country and track career at Division III UW-Stevens Point this upcoming fall.
A signing ceremony was held on the campus of Hononegah High School on Monday afternoon.
“I’m very thankful,” Molitor said. “As a freshman, I had no idea I would be competing after high school. I was just running. Then last season I was like ‘This seems fun, maybe I can run in college.’ I'm just really grateful for this opportunity and for all the coaches that supported me, including the coaches at Stevens Point.”
Molitor’s PR of 18:26 in cross country is currently the 10th fastest in Hononegah history. She also holds the 3rd-fastest time for the 3200-meter race (11:38.40) in the indoor track program’s history and the fourth fastest for the 3200 (11:24.52) in the outdoor track program’s history
“Isabelle is our most run athlete,” Kentner said. “She's the only one that we can consistently put in the mile and two mile. She's someone that we can count on and is a role model for those other girls that want to run distance.”
Molitor said she started competitive running with track in middle school, but her freshman cross country season under then head coach Darryl Rohrer made her fall in love with it.
“He was great,” she recalled. “He really inspired discipline in the team. It was a team bond that I had never experienced before.”
Of course Hononeagh’s success continued under current head coach Jorge Pichardo, and the Indians qualified for the IHSA 3A Cross Country State Meet as a team in 2022. Molitor finished 161st.
Molitor has also continued to be a stout distance runner for the Indians in both indoor and outdoor track and field.
“It's been really incredible to see myself grow as a runner and to see all of my teammates grow, get PRs and find that they love running, too,” Molitor said.
Molitor first started to consider the Pointers after a friend had started looking into the university.
“She suggested ‘Hey, this school might be good for you too,’” Molitor said. “I'm planning on majoring in environmental science, and they've got a super good natural resources program. We did a visit and I fell in love with the team, the coaches and just the overall atmosphere at the school. I could see myself running for them, and they've had a pretty successful history. I could really grow there.”
UW-Stevens Point’s women's track and field teams have combined to win 13 individual NCAA Division III titles.
“Isabelle is totally ready,” Kentner said. “She's been challenged so much in our program. Not many athletes can run a mile and two miles every weekend and still do as well as she does. She's come so far when it comes to mindset and drive.”
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