A college women’s hockey player with Ely connections just completed an amazing college career with her team winning its third national championship.
Kaitlyn Ronn is the granddaughter of Ely’s Shirley Ron and the daughter of Jim and Danelle Ronn of Dayton, MN.
The UW-River Falls women’s hockey team captured its third consecutive NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey National Championship on Sunday afternoon at Hunt Arena, defeating Nazareth University 4-0 to secure the 2026 national title on home ice.
Kaitlyn finished her high school career at Blaine and headed across the St. Croix River to play for the Falcons.
“Throughout my high school years, I was being recruited by college coaches, and it was a dream to go D1,” said Kaitlyn.
“But with Covid going on there were unknowns of where you were going to go because there was lack of communication with coaches. So, D1 was what I was hoping for, but I had a couple conversations with the D3 women’s coach at UWRF, and I felt so much love like the drive that they had to, you know, bring me in and it almost felt like it was a family already there and it was close to home.
“So I ended up just going to River Falls and looking back I wouldn’t have wanted anything else. I wouldn’t have thought that this would be the outcome, but this has been a dream and I wouldn’t want to change anything.”
Kaitlyn started at the bottom on her freshman year, but she learned some important lessons she would use in her career.
“Freshman year for me, I feel like anybody, there’s highs and lows, but overall, getting to see your upperclassmen lead the team. So, you’re learning a lot from them.
“My first season was great, and the outcome, I guess you could say, wasn’t as successful as we have in the past three years, but we always get to the end where we have to play Gustavus, and it was at their place. They had home advantage and we ended up losing to them.”
UW-River Falls women’s hockey team saw its 2022-23 season come to an end in a 2-1 loss at Gustavus Adolphus College in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.
“We ended up beating them my sophomore year. We gave it our all and we didn’t go as far but it was a great freshman year.
“I came in as a forward and after a couple months they switched me to defense due to sickness at the time on the team. And mind you, I did play defense in high school. But I remember at that practice the coach said you’ll never play forward again.”
Being a college freshman is hard enough, moving away from home and family, getting to know a new school and living with new people. “As a freshman your eyes are peeled wide open to what upperclassman are doing on and off the ice. I remember the senior class helped develop skills and mindsets. You have to work your butt off on the ice, and they helped underclassmen to motivate us, especially in conditioning.
“There’s moments in the middle of the season, where school is a lot, hockey is a lot, and the seniors are saying C’mon guys you’ve got this.
“We play this game of hockey, but these are your best friends that you will have after your career. They shared their stories and made me excited for the next four years. That led me to become a leader on the team. Here I am as a senior and I wanted to share my experiences with freshmen including off the ice. As D3 players you’re student athletes so you have the workload of school and hockey but also doing fun things with the team and do things together at the same time.”
Recruited as a forward, Kaitlyn had to deal with a position change during her freshman season.
“It was a lot mentally, as a freshman too, being, moved around, definitely. You’re questioning in moments, like that, is this where I’m supposed to be. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t change, I’m defense and I’m not a forward. I agree with them there.”
After that freshman campaign, Kaitlyn’s team went on a tear.
• 2023-24: 31-0-0 overall. This marked an NCAA Division III record for wins in a season at the time and culminated in the program’s first national championship.
• 2024-25: 26-3-2 overall. The team successfully defended its national title, securing a second consecutive championship.
• 2025-26: 30-1-0 overall. The Falcons completed a historic three-peat with a third straight national championship.
Over the three championship seasons, the team posted a combined record of 87-4-2.
Kaitlyn said UWRF plays some tough teams during the regular season to help them prepare for tournament time.
“Throughout the past couple of years teamwise we have a good mixture. We go play our WIAC teams and we play Minnesota teams like Gustavus, a great team, always ranked. We play Augsburg and they’ve been great competition within the last couple years.”
The Falcons have also made trips to the East Coast to play as well, further preparing them for the NCAA Division III tourney.
“Not everybody gets to play not just teams in your own conference but teams who could be in the tournament as well.”
Kaitlyn said UWRF head coach Joe Cranston and his staff have a certain mentality that is drilled to the team.
“We always think that we have one game in front of us but everyone is out for the number one team. We had to keep a one game in front of us mindset. It’s always a huge advantage where other teams get caught up in thinking about multiple games.”
She noted with the team being almost all girls from Minnesota, there is a builtin togetherness. Only two of the players are from outside Minnesota, one from Wisconsin and the other from California. The teams also had two sets of sisters.
“The Minnesota hockey world is so tight. I’ve played with some of these girls on teams prior to coming to River Falls so I knew the Minnesota hockey girls.
“I think everybody fit in as soon as they got to River Falls and getting to meet them and knowing this is going to be good group of girls. The culture, how hard-working those freshmen and sophomores are. I don’t know if there was a moment when I thought we could go all the way. It was super unbelievable for the three-peat to happen. With our senior goaltender and the other six seniors to say we won three national championships together and end up with that is kind of surreal and crazy and just amazing.”
Playing in her last game didn’t hit her until after the final horn sounded.
“I was out there for the very end of the game, and in moments, I almost just think it wasn’t about my last game, it was we were going to shut out Nazareth 4-0 in the national championship. That’s just insane. I got the chills the last 30 seconds, I was like oh my gosh, this is going to happen. I didn’t think my career is over and I’ve got to get a big girl job. I was just trying to take in the moment.”
Filling several rows in the stands Sunday night were members of the family, along with friends and former teammates.
“Family is everything to me. The support and just growing up in a hockey family has been the best thing ever. I probably don’t understand everything my parents have done for me. Paying for the out-of-town tournament that crazy Minnesota parents do, and I am very thankful that I got the opportunity to meet the people along the way.
“Thanks to my parents, who helped me become a college athlete, and also growing up with my brothers playing hockey, and my dad being a hockey player for Vermilion Community College and being a coach along the way.
“My brothers, Jordan and Dylan, pushed me along the way, shooting pucks in the garage throughout the years. We have motivated each other and pushed me to be the best hockey player and my parents supporting me no matter what.
“I still recall when I was young and how my feet hurt and my dad was my coach and he’s like, all right. So I quit for a year and then my friends told me I should come back and play hockey when I was like eight years old and I think the story is I scored a goal or a hat-trick or something, my first game back and, I mean, that’s got to make a girl want to stay playing hockey.
“It’s been super cool over the last couple years but overall it’s been amazing the support of my family and friends as well. The game is family to me; it’s been unreal support throughout my high school years and in college. The support doesn’t go unnoticed to me. I will always be a family-oriented person that will never change. My whole hockey career has been a great experience.”
