The Daughter Of Two NCAA Champions Didn't Grow Up Planning To Run, But Now That She Has Started There Is No Stopping Her

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Photos by Kim Spir and Becky Holbrook

Before she ever excelled in running, Ellery Lincoln was imbued with ambition and energy. It was evident by the time she started walking. 

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And it was documented on her first preschool report card, according to her mom, Sarah Schwald.

“I think in the very first report (card) that we got, they said, ‘Ellery is a force of nature,’” Schwald said. “Which, I think we would agree with in all of the great ways. She just had a lot of energy.”

A gifted athlete herself, Schwald was an NCAA Division 1 indoor 3,000-meter champion at the University of Arkansas and a professional runner after that.

Ellery’s dad, Daniel Lincoln, also noticed his daughter’s curiosity from the moment she entered the world.

“The first 24 hours of her life, she was constantly awake and seeing what the world is like,” he said.

Daniel Lincoln was a four-time NCAA champion at Arkansas and held the American record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

As the daughter of two running legends, perhaps it was inevitable that Ellery take up running.

Initially, that wasn’t the case.

“They would always ask, ‘Do you think you’re gonna run?’ and I was like, ‘No, that’s their thing,’” Ellery said. “Like, that’s not my thing at all. My parents genuinely thought I was never going to run.”

And now here she is: An Oregon state 1,500-meter champion for Lincoln High (Portland), a state record holder in the DMR, and the second-fastest freshman in the mile in U.S. high school history, behind Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura High in California. 

Ellery will make the quick trip up North on Interstate-5 to compete June 12 in this year’s Brooks PR Invitational at Renton Memorial Stadium in Renton, Wash. 

She is entered in the mile and will be looking to dip under 4:40. (The Oregon all-time best is 4:40.27). 

“I definitely feel excited,” Ellery said. “I get to be a part of this and have these girls help me along to do something special. I think I’m more just feeling grateful and excited to be a part of that.”

Ellery's natural gifts for racing and embracing big challenges have been on full display since last fall's cross country season, but this spring she has raised her level. 

She has made the most of every moment when she’s gone to the starting line to race against some of the nation’s best.

Last week at the HOKA Festival of Miles in St. Louis, Lincoln ran in one of the deepest girls mile races ever assembled, with five runners under 4 minutes, 38 seconds, including Pacers Homeschool VA’s Allie Zealand in first in 4:30.38.

Ellery, the only freshman in the championship field, finished sixth overall in a personal-best 4:40.75.

“I wasn’t trying to put any expectations on myself,” Ellery said. “I was the youngest person in that race. To be able to go out there, stick my nose in it and just use these girls to try to help me run a fast time (was the plan).”

That’s just the latest of many great moments during Ellery's freshman year.

It's been years in the making. 

Throughout her childhood, Ellery showed no interest in running competitively, even though her mom said, “We literally saw that kid run everywhere. That kid did not walk at all.”

Then middle school sports arrived.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic happening in 2021, schools in the Portland area finally allowed kids to come back for in-person learning. 

In an effort to get students active again after being stuck at home for many months, the schools presented opportunities to sign up for sports. 

“I thought she was signing up for volleyball because that’s what her friends were signing up for,” Schwald said. 

It wasn’t volleyball she signed up for.

“She came home, and I said, ‘Did you get to sign up for volleyball today?’” Schwald recalled. “And she said, ‘No, I signed up for cross country.’”

Schwald was in disbelief. 

“I was like ‘No, no, no, no, no, no,’” Schwald said. “Like, it’s COVID, you’ve literally been doing no physical activity for months and now you’re going to sign up for a 3K in cross country while wearing a mask? I thought she was going to hate it.”

It might not have been the best decision given the circumstances.

“I had to run with a mask on and it was pretty terrible,” Ellery said.

“I knew what running looked like. I had been to a lot of track meets when I was younger with my parents, like Prefontaine (Classic), but I don’t think I really understood what cross country meant.”

Not a perfect intro to the sport, but that didn’t stop her from having success.

She only had two races as a sixth grader but finished second and third in them. She was also the top sixth grader in both races.

Upon entering seventh grade, Ellery joined her first youth track club. There, it really became an eye opener for her. 

“I think probably in seventh grade cross country, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is something I want to do,’” Ellery said. “That was the season where I started to see a little bit more, like, I can win things. I think I went to my first Junior Olympics that year in Kentucky for cross country nationals with not a lot of expectations and I got second place.”

One success led to another. Between track that following spring and her eighth-grade year, Ellery didn't lose a single race at Catlin Gabel Middle School.

It was time to make the shift up to high school running.

During the winter of her eighth-grade year, she met up with the Lincoln High girls team during their conditioning sessions, and met head coach Eric Dettman.

“When she came to a couple of our winter conditioning sessions, she didn’t really know anybody,” Dettman said. “And as an eighth grader, that’s a pretty scary experience. To kind of dive headfirst into that, not really understanding what you’re getting yourself into, I think that speaks volumes for me.”

One characteristic of Ellery that stood out above the rest was her ability to connect with others.

“I think there’s something special about running on a high school team with other girls and traveling together and doing these hard things together,” Ellery said. “Definitely feels a lot different. Like, it feels like you’re working together and it’s something bigger than yourself.”

Ellery’s impact was immediate. Not just because of her ability as a runner, but her ability to make others around her better.

Last fall, the Lincoln cross country team achieved something no other team had ever done in school history: win a Nike Cross Regionals title.

“When we were talking about, like, ‘What do you want to accomplish this year?’ I said, ‘I just want to surprise myself,’” Ellery said. “We kept repeating, as the season progressed, just surprised yourself and see what happens. Give yourself a chance and the results will come.”

The success became contagious not only for Ellery, but for the entire Lincoln team.

At Nike Indoor Nationals in March, Ellery finished eighth in the championship mile race as the top overall freshman. She also anchored the distance medley relay team to third. 

The results kept piling up early in the outdoor season, including a school record 2:09.85 effort in the 800 at the Sherwood Need for Speed Classic in early April.

Then, the Oregon Relays arrived, and so did Cuthbertson.

The national record holders in three indoor distance relay events made the trip all the way from North Carolina to compete in one of the Northwest’s premiere track meets. To no surprise, they sent a group to go after the outdoor DMR record.

Lincoln had a team lined up as well, with Ellery on the anchor leg running the 1,600.

Lincoln hung tough with Cuthbertson throughout the entire race. Both teams were within two seconds of each other before making the final exchange. 

Cuthbertson handed off to Charlotte Bell, a 4:37 1,600-meter runner, and Lincoln handed off to Ellery, who boasted a personal-best 4:52 in the mile.

Without hesitation, Ellery went to the lead. 

“I took the lead because I didn’t know she was a 4:37 girl, so I really didn’t know what I was on the line with,” Ellery laughed. “I think in the race, I was trying not to be scared.”

Ellery and Bell battled back and forth for three laps, separated by tenths-of-a-second. As the two made their way onto the final home stretch, the veteran Bell managed to pull away, but Ellery fought all the way to the line.

Her team fell three seconds short of Cuthbertson, but Ellery gave everything she had. 

“That’s the most I’ve ever been hurt in a mile,” Ellery said. “Now I tell myself before every race, ‘Well, it can’t be worse; it can’t hurt more than (that).’”

Dettman was in shock watching the DMR against Cuthbertson. 

“That was kind of one of those big moments,” he said. “Part of it was going against Cuthbertson and Ellery going toe-to-toe with one of the best girls in the country, but it was more the way she ran, like total fearlessness. Did it make sense to take the lead right away or get on her shoulder? No, but that’s exactly who Ellery is, and she’s going to do everything she can to be the best that she can be on that day.”

That moment at Hayward Field was a major turning point for Ellery.

The next week, she ran even faster at the Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays in the mile and won in 4:43. 

Three weeks later when she returned to Hayward Field for the Oregon State Championships, she won the 1,500 (US#8 4:20.89), finished second in the 800 and helped her team to finish second in the 6A team race just behind three-time defending champion Lake Oswego.

Dettman relayed the message to Ellery that the team got second after she finished anchoring the 4x400 relay team to fifth place.

She was overjoyed, not for her herself, but the team.

“When I watch her do the things she does, I’ve tried to take a step back and just be really thankful that she’s trusted me to be her coach,” Dettman said. “Her desire to be a part of this program and to do the things she’s done, that’s not something you see every day, especially in today’s day and age with sports. So, for her be as selfless as she is, is really special.”

Ellery’s individual accolades have created opportunities to compete on big stages, like the Brooks PR Invitational. But she is even more proud of the things she's accomplished with her teammates. 

“It’s awesome,” Dettman said. “Anytime you have the opportunity to race a high level of competition, like, you’ve earned that opportunity. It’s not a testament to anything I’ve done really, it’s a testament to what Ellery has done and the work she’s put in. It’s super exciting for the program but it’s equally as exciting for her to go out and showcase what she can do against the best girls in the country."