On Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, Council Rock South senior Elke Knecht was recognized at a special college signing breakfast for committing to compete in track and field at Lehigh University. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery at the following link: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/p1035446997
Elke Knecht – Lehigh University (Track & Field)
Major: Business/Finance
Final list of colleges: Lehigh, Bucknell, Lafayette, Duquesne
Reasons for choosing Lehigh: “I picked Lehigh because I love the school. It’s really great academically. The team is really competitive, everyone on the team is super nice, the coaches were really friendly, and they were very welcoming when I went up for a visit. Some other tours I went on weren’t like that, and the coaches were kind of distant. Lehigh just felt right, and I’ve been competing there since freshman year.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in track and field at the collegiate level? “My freshman year I had to choose between either dancing or running track. I was talking to my coaches, I was talking to my parents, and we figured out that if I wanted to go to college for track, I could get into a really good school and get money for it, and that would take me further into my future than dance would.”
Coach Ken Worthen says: “Elke came on board four years ago. I met the parents, and dad said, ‘You work her as hard as you want.’ That’s all I needed to hear, and I did. I worked to her strengths to try and make her the best hurdler that I could. To show how Elke is – we were at indoors where there were about a hundred schools, and she won and won by a lot. She came off, and she said, ‘I would rather be second or third and run a really fast time than win and just run a mediocre time.’ That’s the kind of athlete Elke is. She wants to compete against the best, she wants her times to be brought down, and it only happens when you compete against the best.
“I’ve been coaching since 1972. When you have kids like Elke in your program, it’s hard to give it up because as a coach you really enjoy working with great kids. Elke has been great for us. Lehigh is going to become a second home to her. She’s been up there many times the past four years competing. Elke, thanks a lot for making my years here a lot of fun. It was great watching you run.”
About Elke:
Favorite food: Tacos
Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones
Favorite music: Anything
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