GA_081519

to them or ask her teammates,
“Oh, can you repeat what the
workout was for today?”
Other than making sure the
implant didn’t fall out, she said
the only other time the implant
could have been an issue
was during her freshman year
when she ran the leadoff leg of
the relay. Being nervous that
she wouldn’t hear the gun, her
coaches took action.
“My coaches talked to the
IHSA and asked if one of my
coaches could come down to the
track and hold my blocks,” she
said. “So when the guy would
say, ‘set,’ my coach would say
‘set’ right after, same with ‘on
your marks’ and then the gun
would go off.
“The guy who does the gun
would also have a flag, so he
would wave down the flag. I’ve
had that at a couple of meets
where the guy will have a flag
and just wave it down with the
gun, which is super helpful for
me.”
Sullivan’s success at New
Trier also helped her in her collegiate
decision. The majority of
the schools she was looking out
were on the East coast, but when
she stepped onto Boston Col-
30 | August 15, 2019 | The glencoe anchor sports
glencoeanchor.com
Sullivan looks to continue success at Boston College
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
Marne Sullivan has been an
athlete for the majority of her
life.
But something set Sullivan
apart from her fellow competitors
— something that most
people even today aren’t aware
of: she was born deaf.
But that didn’t stop the Wilmette
resident from achieving
great athletic success at New
Trier. As she heads off to run at
Boston College in a couple of
days, Sullivan leaves the school
as the second-most decorated
girls track and field athlete in
school history.
Sullivan leaves the Trevians
program with seven state medals,
the second-most in program
history, medaling in four
straight state finals, including
anchoring the 3,200 meter relay
to a state title this past May, as
well as qualifying and competing
twice in the New Balance
HS Indoor Nationals and once
in the New Balance HS Outdoor
Nationals.
“Actually I didn’t run in the
prelims on Friday for a four-byeight,”
Sullivan said. “I wasn’t
supposed to run the four-byeight
in the championships on
Saturday, so it was a bit more of
a surprise that I was running it.
“I had to run the four-byeight
before my 800, I’d never
really ran the four-by-800 and
800 during my entire season.
So I felt that I had a little bit of
lack of endurance running both
races, but I was very happy with
the result in the four-by-800. It
mostly came as a shock, though,
because I did not think I was
going to run it, but I ended up
winning it.”
A reason that many people
might not know that Sullivan
was born hearing impaired is
that when she was 3-and-a-half,
she had surgery to insert cochlear
implants. When she was
younger, she went to Child’s
Voice, an all-deaf school, before
transitioning to mainstream
school at Wilmette’s McKenzie
Elementary School.
A cochlear implant is an interior
device that gets updated every
couple of years. She can turn
it on and off, but for track meets
will put double sided tape on it
so it doesn’t fall off when she
runs, as well as wearing a headband.
Sometimes during school
she will use a microphone to
help hear the teachers better.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t use
it really for her coaches, so she
just normally would stand close
Please see sullivan, 29
THE SMART PUMP
IT WON’T STOP THE RAIN BUT IT WILL HELP
WITH THE WATER IN YOUR BASEMENT.
Marne Sullivan, a recent New Trier graduate, poses for a photo on
Boston College’s campus, where she will be running track and field
this upcoming season. Photo submitted
BRATSCHI
PLUMBING
847.446.1421
801 OAK STREET, WINNETKA
www.bratschiinc.com
Established in 1937
The Ion System is an integrated pump package that keeps you
on top of potential flooding with advanced email or text message
notification.
Stainless Steel & Cast Iron Sump Pumps
Battery Backup System
Ion Genesis Smart Controller and Sensors
Lic. 055-004618
2