January 28, 2025 // Diocese

‘It’s Always Going to Be a Part of Me’

Eric Peat

Bishop Dwenger Grad Erin Strzelecki Reflects on All-American Running Career at Notre Dame

Bob Sedlmeyer hesitated as he peered down at a young, strong-minded girl in slippers.

“Honey, you’re kind of young to do this,” Sedlmeyer told her.

“I want to do it,” Erin Strzelecki responded.

Sedlmeyer was preparing for a two-mile run, from the retreat center where he was serving in music ministry to a restaurant where he would join his good friend Frank Strzelecki for breakfast, as he did most Saturday mornings. This time, Frank’s two oldest daughters – sixth-grader Allie and fourth-grader Erin – wanted to run with him.

“I said, ‘OK, it’s two miles, we’re going to try it,’” Sedlmeyer recalled. “I’m telling you, we should have known then what a great runner she would be, because that little girl was so determined, she ran the whole two miles in slippers not stopping in the cold weather. It was amazing.”

The memory, forever fresh in Sedlmeyer’s mind, serves as a reminder of the unlikeliest of beginnings to Erin Strzelecki’s running career. It also illustrates a mental fortitude that, along with her Catholic faith and profound sense of humility, would take the Bishop Dwenger graduate to heights she never imagined: a high school state champion, a Division I student athlete, and after November’s NCAA Championships, a two-time All-American at the University of Notre Dame.

“I’ve definitely not wrapped my mind around it, and I don’t want to – I don’t want it to end,” Strzelecki said. “I think I will realize it as soon as I’ve finished my final race ever as a Notre Dame track runner. As soon as that happens … all the emotions will set in that I’m moving on. … I’ll still incorporate running into my life. It’s always going to be a part of me, and never in a million years did I think I’d say that eight to 10 years ago.”

‘No Intention of Running’

Growing up, running was never a part of the plan for Strzelecki. As her parents, Frank and Heather, can attest, she did her best to avoid it.

“We would always encourage her to try different things to try and find her favorites,” Heather said. “The funny thing was, she thought running was awful, and she didn’t like soccer and basketball because of all the running back and forth. If anyone was the poster child for not being a runner, it was Erin.”

Strzelecki echoed the memory of her mother, telling Today’s Catholic: “I had no intention of running whatsoever, whether on a cross country team or for fun around the neighborhood. I did not like running. I had no intention until Bob Sedlmeyer began recruiting me as a good family friend. I give him a lot of credit for getting me to the point of where I am today.”

Sedlmeyer, who had already caught a glimpse of Strzelecki’s potential that Saturday morning years before, was an assistant cross country coach at Bishop Dwenger High School. He invited Strzelecki to join the team in the fall of her freshman year.

“I told her dad, ‘Hey, Frankie, she could come run cross country, because no one gets cut from the cross country team, and it would give her something to do,’” Sedlmeyer remembered. “Some of her friends from St. Vincent [de Paul School in Fort Wayne] were also on the team. So, as fate would have it, she shows up, and the rest is history from there.”

‘One of the Best in the State’

From day one, Strzelecki began running up at the front of the team pack, which caught the eye of head coach Thomas Crum. He quickly instructed Strzelecki to ditch the regular shoes and invest in some spikes.

“Her third meet was the Marion Invite, and she came within 10 seconds of the school record already,” Crum said. “I told her dad if she continues on this path, she’s going to be one of the best in the state by her senior year. I just kind of saw that progression. Usually, female runners are good until they start to develop, and then they start to plateau – but she just never hit that plateau.”

By the end of her first cross country campaign, Strzelecki had individually qualified for the state finals – a rare feat for a freshman – and finished in 27th place. She returned to the state finals in each of the next two years, placing 12th as a sophomore and second as a junior. Strzelecki attributed her success in both cross country and track to her “great support system” of family, friends, teammates, and coaches, and to the lack of pressure that they placed on her. However, Sedlmeyer said the coaching staff had it easy, calling Strzelecki “a dream, the most coachable athlete you could ever hope for.”

After her runner-up finish as a junior, Strzelecki believed she could run with the best in the state as a senior. According to Crum, “her expectation every meet was to break the course record,” which happened on many occasions. While her time of 17:22.9 at the state meet was not a course record, it was more than 21 seconds faster than anyone else, making Strzelecki the first cross country state champion in Bishop Dwenger history.

“Her teammates rushed to her, all cheering for her and screaming,” Sedlmeyer remembered of the ensuing celebration. “It was like a family reunion there. I will never forget how joy-filled those moments were. For me, that was one of my highlights as a coach – to see that type of joyful exuberance for a teammate. That’s the kind of team they were.”

‘A Greater Purpose’

One constant through Strzelecki’s four years at Bishop Dwenger was her Catholic faith, which was front and center at cross country practice.

“At every practice, [Sedlmeyer] would give us a thought of the day, or a prayer, or phrase to keep us grounded in our faith and to remind us that what we were doing was for a greater purpose beyond ourselves,” Strzelecki said. “It was really inspiring, because he’d always been a rock for us, always reliable with a quote or Bible verse of the day. … I’m very appreciative of him doing that for us and for incorporating faith into running; it’s something we all had in common, and we wanted to progress in that area as well.”

This team approach to living the faith was impactful not only to Strzelecki but also to her parents.

“We’re really big into teaching our kids about the friends you surround yourself with,” said Frank, who noted that Father Matt Coonan would sometimes run with the girls and even celebrated Mass in the team tent at some of their meets. “The support, love, and friendships rooted in Christ that are surrounding her – it’s not surprising that she’s solid in her faith, but she’s also such a confident, level-headed, dedicated, and humble kid, and it’s because of everyone she was surrounded with at Dwenger.”

The cross country team adopted patron saints for the squad and routinely asked for their intercession. In fact, of all the titles Strzelecki held while at Dwenger – two-time team captain, three-time school record holder, and four-time team MVP among them – it was her confirmation name that she carried with her.

“I do remember relying on my confirmation saint, Blessed Chiara [Badano] – each of us did in a sense, whether we would explicitly tell or confide in others before a big meet or just silently say our own prayers to our confirmation saints,” Strzelecki explained. “But my confirmation saint was an athlete; that’s how I chose her in eighth grade. I thought it was really cool being so young and an athlete when she passed away, so I carried her through my high school running.”

‘Coach Sparks Sealed the Deal’

It was during Strzelecki’s junior year at Bishop Dwenger, in which she finished as runner-up at the cross country state meet and placed third in the two-mile run at the track and field state finals, that she first realized her career could extend beyond high school.

“I remember after I finished the two-mile at state, Kendra Foley, the [Notre Dame] assistant cross country and track coach at the time, approached me after the race and started to talk to me,” Strzelecki said. “At first, I was really starstruck – I didn’t understand why she was approaching me. I didn’t think I was good enough to be recruited by Notre Dame; I didn’t know that I could go Division I for a while, until that conversation. After that, I realized I could be doing this for four or five more years through college.”

However, Strzelecki was anything but set on joining the Irish. She loved the culture at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and was drawn to the coaching staff at Wisconsin as well. While her parents and coaches offered guidance – such as Crum nudging her toward Division I schools because he believed she belonged at that level – they left the choice up to her.

“It was entirely her decision,” Heather said. “We had family members saying, ‘She’s going to Notre Dame, right?’ … We were just like, ‘Erin, Notre Dame would be amazing; it’s only an hour and a half away, but it’s totally your decision.’”

 

Throughout all the recruiting trips, Strzelecki and her parents were in constant communication, sharing their likes and dislikes about each potential suitor. For example, Strzelecki was concerned about the academic rigors at Notre Dame and whether she was worthy of that level of competition. It was in the course of these conversations that she decided to call the Irish and turn down the offer from head coach Matt Sparks.

“I said, ‘Coach Sparks is probably going to give you a call and want to talk more about it,’ Frank said. “Thirty seconds into that conversation, Coach Sparks calls, and Erin said, ‘What do I do?’ She handled it perfectly and told him exactly what her concerns were. He’s like, ‘Why don’t we get you out here and address those concerns?’ He wanted to talk to our whole family. Getting to know Coach Sparks sealed the deal; he’s a real family guy.”

‘A Blessing in Surprise’

Strzelecki’s first year on campus in South Bend proved to be trying, but not for the reasons she anticipated.

For one, COVID presented unique challenges for classes, training, and assimilating into the Notre Dame community. Even the prospect of making friends was daunting, with everyone wearing masks and social distancing. Next came horrendous stomach pains that made walking or eating impossible, prompting Frank to take her to the ER. Doctors discovered a bowel obstruction and scheduled surgery for the following morning.

“That was really scary,” admitted Strzelecki. “In my mind, as a freshman, I thought my life was over; I thought my running career was over. I had to rely on my faith to get me through that fear and my doubts of ever running again.”

After a two-week recovery, Strzelecki returned to practice, only to crash her bike and land on her face, chipping two of her teeth. A few stitches and a double root canal later, Strzelecki was back at it with a grateful heart – but not without a few good natured jabs from her parents. “You also have to sprinkle humor in,” Heather laughed. “Being that it involved her bowels, you’ve just got to laugh about it. I told her it could be worse.”

“It was honestly a blessing in surprise,” Strzelecki said of her freshman fiasco. “I was able to recover from the incidents, and indoor track season didn’t count towards my eligibility. Now, I get a whole fifth year because of COVID.”

‘Making God So Available’

As Strzelecki progressed through her first few years of cross country and track with the Irish – highlighted by a pair of top-12 finishes at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships in her sophomore and junior campaigns – she had a couple “wake-up calls.”

First, there was the reality that running wasn’t going to come quite as easily as it had in high school, and that she would need to work harder and dig deeper.

“It’s funny – I find myself praying Hail Marys during a race when it’s getting really hard, and I used to not do that,” Strzelecki reflected. “In high school, running came pretty effortlessly for me because I hadn’t tapped into my potential. … Trying new events and new techniques for training has definitely helped me with my faith, and vice versa. I find myself praying quite a few times because races are pretty darn long.”

In addition, she no longer had the luxury of family helping her get to Mass, meaning her faith had to become her own.

“I’ve had to rely on myself and my teammates at times to motivate me to continue to practice my faith as a Catholic,” said Strzelecki, who explained the challenges of attending Sunday Mass at the Basilica amid her practice schedule. “It can be really easy to go later on, or to end up not going because we live off campus, but I’ve learned to stay steady, firm, and persevere through the little voice in my head saying, ‘It’s OK to go later on,’ and end up not going.”

Frank said the ample opportunities that Notre Dame affords to deepen one’s faith, such as the cross country team’s traditional prayer to Mary at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes the night before each home meet, have made it the perfect fit for his daughter.

“Going to Notre Dame, she’s surrounded by a variety of people, but they have chapels and Masses everywhere on campus; there’s one right in her own dorm,” Frank said. “To balance the schedule of athletics and academics and social life, with Notre Dame making God so available and church so available and adoration so available, it was perfect. For her, it was a continuation of what she did at Bishop Dwenger, and then some. They made the transition to practicing your faith with academics and sports almost seamless.”

‘Just Erin’

Strzelecki has written quite the ending to her collegiate career during her final two seasons. As a senior, she competed in the NCAA Championships and finished the 6K course in a personal-best time of 20:06.2, good for 37th place. By virtue of finishing in the top 40, she was named an All-American, and the Irish claimed fourth place as a team.

Running as a graduate student this past fall, Strzelecki broke 20 minutes in the 6K race for the first time with a 19:37.8 performance at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Notre Dame captured its first conference title in program history and once again advanced to the NCAA Championships, this time placing 16th. Strzelecki led her team with a time of 20:02.9, earning another 37th-place finish and a second consecutive All-American nod.

“It is really cool, but I don’t think of myself as anything different than just Erin – or Strez, as my teammates call me,” Strzelecki said. “It’s very humbling to have that title tied to my name. It won’t set in completely until I’m done at Notre Dame and look back at my medals and trophies and say, ‘Wow, I’m impressed with myself.’ It’s just hard for me to impress myself, which isn’t a bad thing.”

For Crum and Sedlmeyer, who have attended a handful of Strzelecki’s collegiate meets, watching her career unfold has been a joy.

The most important part of Strzelecki’s support system, her family, has been there every step of the way.

“They mean so much to me; I can’t put into words how much my siblings and parents have meant to me,” Strzelecki said. “No matter how close or far away they are, someone is always there to watch me, and I truly appreciate that. It’s honestly inspiring to see how far my family is willing to drive or fly to see me run.”

Her younger sisters, Anna and Ella, are regulars at her races, while Allie made it to a few cross country meets this past fall, despite being full-term pregnant by season’s end.

For Frank and Heather, who only missed a couple meets during the past five years, it’s a no-brainer – whether it’s a short drive to South Bend or a road trip to Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, or Oregon. As Heather put it simply: “Wherever she went, we were there. Why would you want to miss it?” Frank agreed, saying: “You only have a short time with your kids until their lives are taking off and they’re doing their own things. … It doesn’t matter if she was good or not – we just wanted to show her we were there for her.”

‘Having Fun Living Her Dream’

While she would love to run professionally in the future, Strzelecki said she will be happy to incorporate running into her life around a regular work schedule. She’s hoping to work in health care after majoring in psychology and pursuing a master’s in nonprofit administration.

First, Strzelecki’s got one last victory lap this spring, as she wraps up her collegiate career on the track. She’ll be focusing on the 5K run during the indoor season and the 10K run during the outdoor season. In between the races, Strzelecki will be savoring these final moments as a student athlete after an unforgettable ride at Notre Dame.

Two-time All-American? Just Erin will do fine, thank you very much.

“She’s healthy, getting better; even in her fifth year, she’s set four PRs – that’s the stuff we celebrate,” Frank said. “The other stuff is nice, and it looks good on the wall, but we celebrate when she’s happy and healthy, because that’s what she’s going to remember. I’m thankful that she’s having fun living her dream.”