Kat Gillern’s work ethic goes far beyond the personal accolades.
The Camden Catholic High School junior midfielder is producing impressive numbers while also setting a prime example of the Irish’s long-term lacrosse goals. Gillern and the team’s success seem to go hand in hand.
“I really love my teammates and I think working hard is the greatest thing,” Gillern said. “If you want to be successful, you have to work as hard as you can.”
Gillern’s efforts have paid off as she led the Irish to a 16-5 record this year, which included a pair of playoff wins and a trip to the Non-Public quarterfinals. She scored 73 goals, 60 assists and recorded 145 draw controls this season, leading her team in all three categories. Gillern will begin the 2027 season just one goal shy of 200 for her career and within range of 500 draw controls as she sits at 359.
Those types of numbers don’t come easy.
“Lots of practice,” Gillern said. “I’ve been playing since I was little and having good coaches is very helpful. My dad coached me for a while and my club and my high school coaches really supported me.”
Gillern’s father, J.R., was a standout basketball player at Shawnee High School before playing at Princeton University and The College of New Jersey. Her mother, Jenna (Luisi) Gillern, also played college basketball at TCNJ, where the couple met. Kat’s parents taught her work ethic, but her younger sister Molly, a freshman on Camden Catholic’s lacrosse team, is the one who enforces it.
“My sister is always pushing me to work my hardest,” Kat said. “She’s my best friend ever.”
“It’s been a lot of fun playing with her for the first time this year,” adding how sad she will be when their time as teammates comes to an end. “We have our own little handshake. I love it.”
As the team’s primary distributor, it can lead to a little added pressure when Molly is a passing option. Molly scored 22 goals this season, with several coming on an assist from Kat. The two also won a South Jersey Non-Public field hockey championship together in the fall.
“I like to look for her, and if she’s open, I’ll pass it to her,” Kat said. “You can’t force it, but I really like when we get our goal to each other. It’s my favorite.”
The Irish proved they have plenty of other scoring options. Abbie Brown (53 goals), Sophia Reynolds (46), Maddie Brennan (40), and Lauren Iaccio (32) all produced fantastic numbers this season.
“In reality, we have so much talent spread throughout the field that Kat has more than doubled her assist totals from last year,” said Camden Catholic coach Kate Boyle. “She’s able to see a lot more because it’s not on her to do everything.”
The Irish pieced together their best season since the 2018-19 team that went 21-2. With most of the team coming back next season, Camden Catholic expects to take another step forward. And whether the team is practicing their lacrosse skills in the offseason or competing in different sports, conditioning certainly won’t be a problem.
“We have a lot of athleticism and girls from our field hockey program and basketball [program], and that makes my job easy because they are competing every day,” Boyle said. “It’s great to see them working hard and having fun and laughing, probably even a little too much. But in reality, they are always competing. They want to get better.”
Gillern has been playing lacrosse since second grade. Her dream of playing the sport on the Division 1 level came to fruition when she committed to play for Mount St. Mary’s University where she will study health sciences. She hopes to work in physical therapy, which was a big part of her recovery from a broken ankle during her sophomore year.
“I got hurt last year so I went to physical therapy all the time,” Gillern said. “I want to be able to help other people.”
Gillern missed the first three games of last season, but she made up for lost time, perfecting her skills in several areas of the game. Gillern is not only a top scorer and playmaker, but she’s one of the best at taking and controlling draws.
“She’s a true attacker and she specializes in the draw control, which is something she will excel in at the next level,” Boyle said. “As an individual player, she is very well-rounded. Obviously she can score goals at will but I’ve been more impressed with her ability to find her teammates this year and allow the pressure to be off of her. She can still get that goal when she needs to, but when she is double-teamed or face guarded, our attack doesn’t break down.”
Gillern is also involved at school as a member of student government, ambassadors and Morgan’s Message club for mental health. But she never seems to mind the long hours when she is surrounded by teammates who also put in the effort.
“We have been working harder each year,” Gillern said. “We’re a fun team that has a lot of fun at practices while also making sure that we are working hard and doing our best. We focus when we have to.”
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