For Ella Buhlke, her heart had always belonged to cross country, to the point where Buhlke was going to decline her entry into the Kearney Health Opportunities Program if she didn’t have a spot on the UNK cross country team. However, a vacation incident that put Buhlke and two family members into the hospital gave Buhlke a new identity in life.
Back when Buhlke was looking for colleges, her goal was to run cross country at a solid academic institution out of state. Even though Buhlke’s parents both attended UNK, being a Loper was not on her radar until her parents encouraged her to apply to KHOP.
Meanwhile, Buhlke was persistent in trying to land a spot on the cross country team, because she said she did not want to go to college without running. Buhlke was accepted into KHOP and had two weeks to sign the contract, leading to one more conversation with UNK cross country and track coach Brady Bonsall.
“I was a little bit nervous, like, ‘gosh, I hope this girl isn’t in over her head,’” Brady Bonsall said. “Those are never good situations, when you, in a sense, give someone a spot and then when it doesn’t work out.”
Not only did Buhlke finish that day with a signed KHOP contract, but after her freshman year, she was awarded a cross country scholarship. Buhlke said earning the scholarship was validation after not being heavily pursued in high school.
However, life took a turn for Buhlke during winter break her sophomore year when her family traveled to Honduras. On Dec. 27, 2023, Buhlke and her family had returned from scuba diving, an activity Buhlke’s family enjoyed together in five different countries. As they were walking along the beach, there was one vendor who stood out from the rest and caught Buhkle’s youngest sister’s attention. The guy was offering tubing rides behind a motorboat in the ocean.
There was only enough room on the tube for Buhlke, her two sisters and their father, so Buhlke’s mom rode in the boat. They were told they did not need life jackets, but Buhlke said they wore them anyway.
There were a lot of boats on the water, so the driver swung the boat toward the shore and as he curved back out to the ocean, the tube “kept going forward and hit a cement and metal dock that was extending out into the ocean.”
Buhlke, her younger sister and father collided with the dock.
“We were really, really lucky because there were bystanders on the beach who ran out onto the dock and helped to pull us out of the water,” Buhlke said. “I don’t remember any of that. I was completely unconscious.”
With the nearest ambulance three hours away, Buhlke’s family was bundled in the car of a retired American man who took them to the nearest urgent care. After receiving medical attention, the family flew back to continue their recovery with healthcare in the United States.
Buhlke’s family received support from the community in Central City to the point where other adults stayed at their house for weeks to help them with their medical needs and take the Buhlke family to appointments.
At a time when Buhlke said she questioned and struggled with her faith and “why God would let something like that happen,” Buhlke’s friends helped her find a new identity as a daughter of Christ.
“I had some friends who really worked God through me and pulled me back to church and helped me to recover my relationship in Christ during the summer before my junior year,” Buhlke said.
Former teammate and now volunteer assistant coach, Grace Bonsall, said the incident showed Buhlke’s resiliency.
“(Buhlke) just automatically turns every bad thing into, ‘How can I use this to be better?’ or ‘How can I’, ‘Where’s the positive in this?’ ‘Where can I find joy in this?’” Grace Bonsall said. “So, I think that incident was a big turning point.”
Even though Buhlke can only breathe out of one nostril, she returned to running and raced in a 3K just 51 days after the accident. Followed by qualifying for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships her junior year, Buhlke said her stronger faith contributes to the new way she races.
“I don’t feel pressure to perform because my identity is in running, because I know it’s not,” Buhlke said.
Embarking on her final cross country race as a Loper, Buhlke said the senior class has raised the bar for the program, being a part of the only two UNK women’s cross country teams to qualify for nationals.
“I think we’ve (the senior class) worked to create a culture where that’s the expectation,” Buhlke said. “We went from being a team that’s never qualified to, in four years, we’ve qualified as a team twice.”
At the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in November, Buhlke led the way for the Lopers in her final collegiate race. With a time of 21:34.5, Buhlke finished within four seconds of her career best and in 76th with a field of 263 runners.
“I like to know that like I gave every day my all, whether that was academically or in my friendships and my relationships and athletically,” Buhlke said. “When I get done, I like to know that I didn’t leave anything on the table.”