The returning Gatorade State Track & Field Athlete of the Year, the 5-foot-11 senior won the 800-meter run, the 1,600-meter run and the 3,200-meter run at the Division A state meet for a second year in a row this past season, leading the Knights to a fifth-place finish as a team. The Gatorade State Cross Country Runner of the Year as a sophomore and as a senior, Ackley smashed the state record in the 1,600 by more than three seconds with a time of 4:53.34 at the Eastern Dakota Conference meet, which ranked as the nation's No. 68 clocking among prep competitors in 2017 at the time of her selection.
Ackley has maintained a weighted 4.30 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a national letter of intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at Iowa State University beginning this fall.
A member of the Grand Forks Central National Honor Society, she has volunteered locally as a youth track coach. "Karly is an extremely positive and hard-working individual," said Eric Polries, head coach of Grand Forks Central High. "She takes her sport very seriously but is seen as more than just a great runner."
