German standout joined boyfriend Stefanski in moving to Memphis in 2018 and has quietly developed into All-American and title contender for Pirates, entering NCAA championship race in Washington unbeaten this fall
By Mary Albl of DyeStat
Bill Hoffman and the Christian Brothers University coaching staff had their eyes on Leo Stefanski.
It was nearly five years ago when the NCAA Division 2 program in Memphis, Tenn., was actively recruiting the distance runner from Schleusingen, Germany, when he mentioned his girlfriend, Johanna Wistokat, who was also a runner.
“Leo basically said, ‘The only way I come, is if she comes,’” Hoffman said with a laugh.
“We looked her up and I thought she was a good runner, but a developmental runner. We said, ‘OK, we’ll try and make this work and we basically took a chance, and it’s just worked out.’”
That risk has more than worked out as Wistokat, a current graduate student at Christian Brothers, has progressed from a relatively unknown into one of the best distance runners in program history for the Pirates.
She heads into the NCAA Division 2 Cross Country Championships undefeated this fall and a big opportunity to win her first national title Friday at Chambers Bay Regional Park in University Place, Wash.
Wistokat is coming off a 6-kilometer victory in 21 minutes, 21.7 seconds Nov. 19 at the Division 2 South Regional Championships at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Fla.
“The game plan is it’s just another race,” Hoffman said. “I think if you hyperfocus on, ‘We’re going to try and win,’ that’s great, but you have to execute the race. Anything can happen, the clouds can be too low, the grass can be too high, the cows are laying down, all of that stuff. This is like every race that we go into: do the very best you can do and see how the race develops.”
That mantra of anything can happen, has been a big part of Wistokat’s journey.
Growing up in Germany, she started the sport of track and field – playing games, running, jumping – at age 7.
She didn’t engage in longer distances until her teenage years, experiencing success through the club system.
After graduating high school, Wistokat said she planned on coming to the United States for just a short while to improve her English and take advantage of the system for academics and athletics, but fell in love with the opportunities.
With some extra help from her boyfriend, Leo, she settled on Christian Brothers as her new home.
“I was really…
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