To continue her cross country career, Quinter’s Ella Gruenbacher has been forced to become an expert in pain management. 

Two years ago as a freshman, Gruenbacher began experiencing intense pain and inflammation in her calves during distance runs. She spent the next year trying to pinpoint a diagnosis. 

“I did an ultrasound on my arteries on the back of my calves, my popliteal artery,” Gruenbacher said. “We saw that when I did exercise the artery compressed, which restricted blood flow to my calves, so that was the reason I was feeling so much pain. 

“Eventually, my calves and the whole back side of my leg and under my feet would go numb if I had been running for enough time.”

The condition, popliteal artery entrapment syndrome, made Gruenbacher's sophomore season downright miserable at times, keeping her from running or completing some races when the pain became too much. 

Rather than giving up the sport, Gruenbacher became focused on finding ways to make the pain manageable instead of unbearable. 

“I definitely learned a lot about what I can handle,” Gruenbacher said. “There’s not much you can do. We tried a lot of physical therapy, stretching, and a lot of exercise to try to get it to help. Last year we tried botox to try and help the muscles not constrict as much. I feel like the botox has been helping. Wearing compression sleeves works a little bit. 

“I’ve learned a lot about ways to help it as much I can, but I can’t really get it to go away.”

Gruenbacher has accepted the fact the pain will always be there, but it’s a price she’s willing to pay. 

“I just love the sport so much. I love the team environment and I love my coaches,” Gruenbacher said. “Those are honestly the main reasons I keep doing it. I love the supportiveness. 

“And I love to run. I don’t think that will ever change, even if it hurts.”

Her junior season has been a breath of fresh air. 

The pain has been tolerable, allowing Gruenbacher to complete all four of Quinter’s races so far and set a personal-best time of 23:20.88 at the Bulldogs’ home meet. 

“There’s a very big difference in seeing the smiling Ella and the one that’s devastated,” Quinter cross country coach Ed Mense said. “We’ve seen a lot of smiling Ella this year, and it’s a great feeling.”

Gruenbacher, the Capitol Federal® True Blue® Student of the Week, relies on a couple of motivating factors when she is looking for that extra push to get through races. 

“I mostly just think of my teammates,” she said. “And when the pain does come, I think a lot about how bad it was last year, because right now it’s definitely more manageable. I think about how terrible it was last year and how down I was on myself and how much I was struggling mentally. 

“I remember that, and I think how much better it is now. Just remind myself that the pain will stop eventually. ‘When I finish, it will go away. I’m doing this for my team. I have to do this for my team so I can be a good leader.’ ”

Mense said Gruenbacher has been an inspiration for her Quinter teammates. Quinter has established itself as one of the top small-school cross country programs in the state over the past few years. 

“She’s just a special kid,” Mense said. “You desire to do something so much that you’re willing to put your body through some of the things that she does.

“She’s setting the bar high for herself but she’s also setting the bar for her teammates. They see that you can do things that are hard, you can endure when things are not ideal or perfect.”

Gruenbacher is also a leader in her school and her community, navigating a hectic schedule. 

The three-sport athlete (cross country, basketball and track) also participates in several other activities including student council, Kansas Association for Youth and choir.

“It’d be a shorter list to list the things she’s not involved in,” Mense said. 

Gruenbacher, who was nominated for CapFed Student of the Week by Quinter music teacher Julinne Samuelson, is also heavily involved in her church. One of her favorite clubs is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. 

“I’m a very faithful person. It’s so important to me,” Gruenbacher said. “We started making big group prayers at cross country meets and that is just so powerful and so special.”

“I also really like KAY and Student Council. I love doing activities around school and keeping other students involved.”

Gruenbacher attacks every task with 100 percent effort. 

“I try to make sure my mind is where my feet are,” she said. “I want to be completely involved and locked in wherever I am.

“I have a really crazy planner with 80 million pencil markings. It takes a lot of time management and it’s stressful, but I’m so glad I do everything. It’s so amazing to be involved in so many amazing things.”

Gruenbacher attributes her leadership qualities to the guidance of her parents, Doug and Shelly Gruenbacher, who both work as doctors at the hospital in Quinter. She’s also been inspired by older siblings, Evelyn, Eli and Ethan. 

“All of my older siblings have done such amazing things,” Gruenbacher said. “All of them did so many activities and were such great leaders and loved by so many people in their classes. Just watching them do all those activities really inspired me.”

Following in the footsteps of her parents and sister, Gruenbacher plans to pursue a career in the medical field. Her battle with popliteal artery entrapment syndrome has also factored into that decision. 

“As annoying as this whole thing has been, it has helped me learn so much about my body and everything it can do,” Gruenbacher said. “It’s so fascinating to me. It’s definitely sparked more interest in going into (the medical field).”

Despite only being a junior, Mense said Gruenbacher is well on her way to leaving a lasting legacy at Quinter. 

“Hopefully the kids see that it’s not impossible to be involved in everything. You can still be super great at everything you do,” he said.