May 20, 2026 4 min read

Name: Katie Froelich

Grade: Freshman

School: Peters Township

Sport: Track and Field

Froelich’s week: Leading up to last week’s WPIAL Track and Field Championships, Froelich was a bit under the weather with a sore throat, but that didn’t slow her down.

As a freshman, Froelich entered as the top seed in Class 3A girls 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs and backed that up by winning gold in both events.

Froelich’s winning time in the 1,600 was 4:53.10, which was ahead of defending champion Angela Zeng of South Fayette. Zeng’s time was 4:54.27.

She had a bigger gap in the 3,200, finishing at 10:15.64, nearly six seconds ahead of Zeng, who finished second again.

Froelich said she had some nerves going in, but it didn’t show in her performance.

“I was a little scared, because I didn’t really know what to expect, especially going up against one of my friendly rivals, Angela (Zeng),” Froelich said. “I didn’t know how we were going to both feel that day.”

Zeng is only a sophomore, so it’s likely that Froelich will be battling it out with her for a few more years.

“I’m thankful to have her, because she’s taught me how to race,” Froelich said. “She’s really good and it’s cool to go up against her.”

Fast out of the blocks: Aside from being a track star, Froelich is also a striker on the Peters Township girls soccer team. She didn’t participate in track until she was in eighth grade and joined initially to stay in shape for soccer.

That changed after her first race.

“I just wanted to do it to see if it was fun and it turned out that I ran a 5:22 in my first track meet,” Froelich said. “At that point I figured I should maybe look into it a little more. I just did it for fun last year, before I started to take it more seriously.”

It was pointed out to her that running a 5:22 in the 1,600 in her first try without any training was a pretty impressive feat and it became clear that track was going to be something she should pursue.

“My dad was really proud of me, and he told me that was really good,” Froelich said. “I really knew nothing about track, so I didn’t know.”

Twinning: Froelich has a twin sister, Allyson, who will be joining her at states. Allyson finished fourth in the 1,600 to qualify for this weekend’s PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg. The two sisters shared a hug after crossing the finish line at Slippery Rock after they knew they had both qualified for states.

“I have never been so proud of her in my life to be honest,” Froelich said of Allyson. “She had a lot of doubt in herself, but she did it. I’m very thankful to be able to run with her. We push each other to our very limit sometimes.”

Early start: If you plan on watching Froelich at the state track meet this weekend, get to your seat early.

On both days, Froelich is in the first running event of the meet. The 1,600 is at 9 a.m. Friday. She’ll be in the second race after the Class 2A girls. The 3,200 is at 9 a.m. Saturday and again she’ll be in the second race.

“That’s going to be a little bit of a change,” Froelich said. “I don’t think I’ve raced at 9 a.m. before.”

Froelich is seeded second in the 1,600 and first in the 3,200.

“I’m looking forward to the community of the track runners,” Froelich said. “Every time I go to a big event it’s super fun and you get to meet new people that push you very hard.”

Compiled by Jerin Steele