Kaitlyn Freudenberg didn’t really expect to make varsity when she joined track at Southeast. She played soccer for a while before realizing it wasn’t for her. 

“[I’ve always] been pretty good at running and jumping,” said Freudenberg, so track was an obvious choice. Kaitlyn joined track in eighth grade, and soon realized how talented at track she was. When she went out for track at Southeast this spring, she really started catching eyes. 

On March 24 at the Lincoln Northeast Relays meet, Freudenberg placed first in high jump with a PR height of 5 feet. Besides high jump, Kaitlyn runs the 200 and the 400, as well as 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Her relay teams placed 5th in 4×100 (Mo Baxter, Kaitlyn Freudenberg, Hannah Fleming, Iris Bumgarner) and 3rd in 4×400 (Alexa Duweling, Iris Bumgarner, Hannah Fleming, Kaitlyn Freudenberg) at the Lincoln Northeast Relays meet. More recently, she placed 5th in the 400 meter race at the Westside invitational meet on April 2nd, and her relay team for the 4×100 placed 4th. Not only does Freudenberg’s talent and athleticism stand out, but so does her spirit. Joining track, she didn’t think she was going to know many people, but started making friends right away. 

“Everybody seems really nice, like open you know? They’re always wanting to talk and the bus rides with the girls are a lot of fun,” she said, speaking about the track community. 

Track Coach David Nebel also recognizes Kaitlyn’s sportsmanship on and off the track. “She wants to go to the meets and support her friends and be there to cheer on the people she trains with,” he said. “I think that her willingness to go there and be there for her friends really demonstrates what kind of teammate she is and her benefit to our team, not just with regard to her athletic performance but with her personality and leadership.”

Along with being a supportive teammate by cheering her friends on, Freudenberg has also demonstrated a willingness to try all events and participate in many things. According to Coach Nebel, “Kaitlyn’s been more than willing to try multiple events, so it’s nice to have an athlete who can come out and contribute in field events [….] and contribute on the track as well.” 

Freudenberg is one of the few freshmen this year to compete at a varsity level, and has stood out as a talented and versatile athlete on and off the track.