Katelyn Hutchinson's collegiate career began at Ithaca College, where she became a three-time Liberty League champion and NCAA All-American. In 2022, after a decorated career at the Division Three level, Hutchinson decided to transition to the University of Kentucky - to continue her schooling and challenge herself.
"Being an Ithaca Bomber and Kentucky Wildcat, two different vibes, but like, still so homey and like family too," Hutchinson shared. "This is a family, like Big Blue Nation, they're gonna ride!"
Hutchinson shared her love for Track with her late father, Kelly. The two soon found out that they weren't the only people passionate about the sport, both taking to Twitter to share their enthusiasm. During the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hutchinson really saw her following grow, connecting with others in the Track scene.
"Everybody's following each other like we're making group chats. I'm talking about the one group chat that we had had like 300 people in it from all across the country, all different schools, and we're all just connecting with each other and having a great time. So from there, my following really boosted, and I just committed myself to tweeting about track all the time, and it didn't feel like it was anything extra just because of the simple fact that I love doing it."
"This is all I could ever dream of."
From there, Hutchinson decided to invest in herself by applying to Magic Boost, a program geared towards telling the stories of track & field athletes from a diverse perspective. Hutchinson didn't get it in her first year, but delayed does not always mean denied. She grew her skills, and the next time she applied, she was selected. In no time, Hutchinson was covering the USA Track & Field events.
"Mind you at that point, never been to a professional track meet, never seen a pro. Like I said, 'Y'all are throwing me in the deep end. How do y'all know I'm about to not go crazy?' But I held my own, did really well and at the end of the week, Chris [Chavez] was like, 'So do you want a job with Citius?' He's like, 'Can we keep you around?' I'm like, this is such a blessing! Of course, I'll definitely stay, and literally from then it's just taken off."
Fast forward to today, Hutchinson has traveled across the country and the world with Citius Magazine as a track & field analyst and World Athletics as a content creator, connecting with athletes in her own way.
"I feel like I choose to view the athlete as a person because they have a lot of other things going on that I feel are very important to their performances and let you know, how you need to be approaching them and how you need to be addressing them. Because if you know about them if you actually care about them... they feel like there's some type of connection between the both of you," shared Hutchinson. "Since I'm able to break that barrier between me and the athlete, I'm able to get content and quotes and sound bites and stuff that are what people are looking for, without burning bridges with athletes, or without sounding crazy."
Hutchinson's success in track media continues to grow, landing her in Runner's World Magazine's 2023 Runners of the Year list for her newsroom experience and was most recently named a contributor on Forbes.
"[UK Track & Field] have got some amazing men and women on this team. You already know Abby Steiner, Alexis Holmes, Masai Russell, like they are it when it comes to this team. So it just feels nice being a part of that knowing that athletically I’m not where they are yet in terms of making an impact on this team yet. But knowing that I do have something else that’s special, that does continue to elevate the team on the track and off the track. That makes me feel a lot better about myself."
Even though Hutchinson has a busy few weeks ahead, she hopes to use the eligibility she has left this outdoor season.
"I also have the opportunity to go to NCAA, I won't be doing any formal work, but I will just be out in the shadows watching my teammates run fast because that's what I'm here for," Hutchinson cheered. "And then after that, like I said, my biggest goal is to try to at least have my happy ending at Kentucky... And so my biggest focus this year is definitely going to be traveling and making sure that I'm competing well to be able to end this collegiate season the way I would like it to."
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