After eclipsing 36-year-old Division 2 record in 3,000 meters with 9:11.41 effort in elite race at Camel City Invitational, German athlete Ritter looks to secure program’s first NCAA women’s indoor title this weekend in return to CrossPlex

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Before the national record was to occur, Celine Ritter needed the right mindset.

A 5-foot-8 distance runner from Roesrath, Germany, the senior at NCAA Division 2 Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., is no stranger to making and facing impactful choices.

In the past few years, Ritter relocated thousands of miles from home to run in the U.S., transferred schools, and spent her first holiday alone in a foregin country during a pandemic.

The courage and determination to make bold decisions, check. But the confidence to consider herself an elite college runner? Let’s just say Feb. 20 was years in the making for Ritter.

“Celine, I think the biggest thing is you could see in workouts and her strides how effortless speed comes for her and just aerobically how good she is on long runs and longer tempos,” Lee University head coach Caleb Morgan said. “The biggest thing she needed was confidence.”

It’s been a journey to find that confidence, as the past few years have certainly tested Ritter, but have also slowly developed a silent, internal courageous self-assurance that was always there, but just needed time to blossom.

At the Camel City Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., Ritter experienced a breakthrough performance Feb. 20, clocking a personal-best 9 minutes, 11.41 seconds in the women’s 3,000-meter elite race to finish in fifth place and break the Division 2 National indoor record for a race contested on a 200-meter track.

WATCH WOMEN'S ELITE 3,000-METER RACE AT CAMEL CITY INVITATIONAL WITH RUNNERSPACE+PLUS

The previous record of 9:16.34 was held by Gladees Prieur of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and had stood since 1985. Caroline Kurgat of Alaska-Anchorage ran 9:07.05 in 2019, but did so on the oversized track at the Dempsey Indoor facility in Seattle, Wash.

Heading into the NCAA Division 2 Indoor National Championships this weekend at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., Ritter is a clear favorite Saturday to win the 3,000 title, which would be the first indoor championship in any women’s event for the Flames.

“I think the potential has been there for a long time to run the times she’s running, but the confidence factor was the big thing she’s been lacking,” Morgan said. “And I think that’s the big difference and the thing she’s been able to grasp the last three months or so, and allowed her to take off.”

A once-avid tennis player turned runner, Ritter, who attended Freiherr-vom-Stein Gymnasium in Roesrath, knew a path to running competitively meant a big transition.

“I decided to go to the U.S. for studies and running just because athletics seem to be more important in America and easier to combine with school than in Germany,” she said.

Ritter said she knew someone from her home who was attending The University of Mount Olive, a Division 2 school in North Carolina.

From there, she was able to make the connection with the university and coaches, and found a place to run and study overseas in 2017.

Despite solid results on paper, which included a third-place cross country finish at the NCAA Division 2 Southeast Regionals (22.10.07) and winning the mile (5:00.03) at the Conference Carolinas Indoor Track and Field Championships as a sophomore, Ritter was struggling.

Coming from a lower mileage program in Germany, the collegiate scene was overwhelming.

“Athletically, it was a very extreme transition,” Ritter said. “I definitely needed some time to get adjusted. My first two years did not go super well. I think my endurance was just not as developed yet. It was a very different experience for me.”

Morgan, who knows the coach at Mount Olive, heard Ritter was looking to transfer in the spring of 2019. After going through the protocols, Ritter made another big transition and moved to Cleveland, Tenn., to attend Lee University.

A new environment, training system, and a few years older and wiser, things started to get easier.

“I kind of got adjusted to the mileage and everything to being in the U.S. in general and time management,” she said.

A Psychology major, Morgan describes Ritter as quiet and reserved and at times, although she’s found her stride at Lee fitting in with the team.

“She’s just done a phenomenal job and she’s really developed well for us and really took to our training,” Morgan said.

Last winter, Ritter ran a then personal-best 9:31.08 in the 3,000 at the Boston University Terrier Invitational, and helped her team win the inaugural Gulf South Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship, finishing first in the mile and 3,000.

Ritter was in a good position to place high at the national final at the CrossPlex, and then the pandemic swept in and cancelled the championship meet and the entire outdoor season.

While the sudden stoppage in competition and the unforeseen period of time away presented many challenges, Ritter embraced it. After finishing her spring studies, she was able to travel back to Germany, spend time with family and do the thing she loves best, run.

“I think it was kind of a good thing for me that there weren’t any races, so I could do higher mileage, which really helped,” Ritter said.

Added Morgan: “I think in this situation the prolonged amount of time off without a race was a really great factor for her. She had six to seven months of time where she just had great training and gained confidence. So when she stepped to the line, she was very poised mentally to run at the level she’s been running at this year.”

After a few minor delays, Ritter was able to return to the U.S. as a different runner.

During the fall cross country season, she won the Gulf South Conference Championship in a PR of 17:01.7. This indoor track season, she’s carried her newfound confidence to achieve several phenomenal performances, including a 4:44.95 mile on Jan. 23 at the Samford Open.

“Coach (Morgan) and I work together really well, and I think the confidence I have now is just from having really successful workouts and having more experience racing,” Ritter said. “I think good workouts really boosted my confidence in general.”

Morgan said the Camel City Invitational was a perfect scenario for Ritter, as she was able to run her own race, and slowly make her move in the pack. Ritter said sub-9:20 was the aspiration, but she picked up a near 20-second PR and Division 2 national indoor record.

“I was not expecting to run that fast, so it was very surprising, but of course very amazing,” she said.

Now the attention turns to the big stage, where Ritter has the confidence to express her goals.

“My goal is to win the national title in the 3K,” she said. “It looks good on paper, but we’ll see.”

And as a team, Lee has a chance to score in a multitude of events and is in position for some postseason hardware with both teams, as Christian Noble – Division 2 men’s indoor record holder in the 3,000 and 5,000 – leads the Flames.

“When you have a group of girls running well each week and training well together, it definitely brings out the best in each one of them,” Morgan said. “And instills a lot of belief.”