INDIANAPOLIS – By now, Dan Kinghorn recognizes “the look” – and what it means when Julia Score has it written on her face.
“She doesn’t hear anything you say,” said Kinghorn, the Bishop Chatard girls’ track and field coach said with a laugh. “Straight ahead, you know? You don’t have to guess what she’s thinking. It is amazing.”
Score’s resume proves her game face is working. The Chatard senior has been a model of consistency and excellence in her four years of high school, piling up award and achievements going into her final state track meet next week.
“She’s so consistent, so driven,” Kinghorn said. “She brings it every single day and she does it year-round. What’s really special is doing it day in and day out like she does.”
The latest achievement for Score: City Female Athlete of the Year.
The Wake Forest recruit was voted for the award by the Marion County Athletic Association, which bases its voting on athletic achievements but also considers credentials in academics and off-the-field contributions.
Score has plenty to brag about in all of those areas. Not that she would. But her sister can.
“I love her so much,” said Ellie Score, who is 5 ½ years older than Julia. “She’s the best, truly. She’s good at anything she does … just one of those people. I didn’t know if she was going to stick with (running) the first couple years, but she got through it.”
No, Score was not a natural runner at first. Then again, she was 6. Her parents, Mike and Kathy, put her in races to tag along with her older sister. “I cried every race,” Julia said.
“We put her in there because it was convenient since her sister was running,” Mike Score said. “As it turned out, she struggled a lot. She didn’t like it at all.”
But even at a young age, Score had resilience. She stuck with it. And by fifth grade, she was winning races. “I was like, ‘Hey, I’m pretty good at this,’” she said. By eighth grade, Score started thinking distance running could be something she could potentially pursue in college.
Her freshman year at Chatard, Score took 10th at the state cross country meet. That same year, Chatard senior Lily Cridge won the state meet, narrowly defeating a talented field that included second-place Nicki Southerland of Delta and third-place Sophia Kennedy of Park Tudor.
“I didn’t really know if I could do it until I got to high school,” Score said. “As a freshman, I did pretty well and it was like, ‘OK, I really want this and want to keep working at it.’”
Score took fourth in the 1,600 meters in the state meet as a freshman and seventh in the 3,200 meters. She has continued as one of the state’s top distance runners going into her final high school event at the state meet on Friday at North Central, where she will compete in the 4×800-meter relay and the 3,200.
After taking eighth as a sophomore in the 1,600, Score was second in the 3,200 at the state meet as a junior and helped her 4×800 relay team to a fourth-place finish. Along the way, she has set sectional records in the 1,600 and 3,200, a city record in the 1,600 and helped her 4×800 relay team to an indoor state record.
To be a great distance runner, it takes mental and physical strength.
“I like the pain,” Score said. “I think it’s fun to push myself to my limit and see how far I can go. It takes a lot of grit and I like that. It’s not always who is the most talented. It’s like, ‘Who is willing to work at it harder and who is the grittiest?’”
Score also played basketball through her sophomore year. She liked the change of pace in sports, but also found herself more drawn to the camaraderie of distance running than the hardwood.
“It was more like, ‘Rip your head off,’ in basketball,” Score said with a laugh. “In cross country and track, I like the culture a lot more. You talk on the starting line and then it’s like, ‘OK, I’m going to go,’ and then after the race you are friends again.”
Score helped her cross country and track teams to city titles all four seasons. She has also competed highly on the national stage, taking 12th place in the Nike Indoor Nationals in 2024 and 16th at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 2025.
“She’s a great teammate,” Kinghorn said. “She sets a great example with the way she comes every day and does her work and never complains.”
Being a great teammate is important to Score. After she finished first in 3,200 at the sectional meet, Score encouraged other runners as they crossed the finish line, even as she tried to catch her breath.
“I’ve always tried to make it a point to give high fives and say, ‘Good job,’” she said. “Just because we’re running hard races and you did something awesome. It’s like, ‘Hey, you ran a mile really fast.’ There are a lot of races where I feel like, ‘Ooh, can I finish this?’ There have been a few that are harder than others. Normally I’m able to pull through. On bad days I really contemplate, ‘Could I just walk off the track right now?’”
It does not come to that, of course. Score does not gauge her success based on where she finishes in a race as much as where she finishes in comparison to her own times. That philosophy also extends to her life outside of running.
“She’s found so much personal growth in this sport,” said her sister, Ellie. “It’s been cool to watch her become a leader on the team. At her graduation, a (dad) came up and said, ‘I have a freshman on the team, and she talks about how Julia is just always encouraging her.’ She’s grown so much and just wants the best for other people. She’s an ‘always get better’ person in every area of her life.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bishop Chatard senior Julia Score is Indianapolis City Female Athlete of Year
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