HO_032620

30 | March 26, 2020 | the homer horizon sports
homerhorizondaily.com
fastbreak
Lockport grad has great track season at ISU cut short
Photo submitted by Dennis
Banks/Illinois State
University
1st and 3
Former LTHS track
star’s season cut
short
1. Sweet memories
Illinois State University’s
indoor women’s
track team
won their third
straight Missouri
Valley Conference
championship with
the help of former
LTHS track star
Jaclyn Greci. Now,
her outdoor season
is canceled.
2. Top performer
Greci had some
of her top performances
ever in the
indoor season. She
won the 400-meter
race also led off
the winning 4x400
team.
3. Unprecedented
circumstances
Even though it is
hard for Greci to
have her season
cut short, she
understands that
it’s in the public interest.
She’ll get to
compete again, but
some of her teammates
might not.
Randy Whalen, Freelance Reporter
Jaclyn Greci had the days
counted down.
It was Saturday, Feb. 29, and the
Illinois State University women’s
track and field team had just won
the indoor championship of the
Missouri Valley Conference. That
was the Redbirds’ third straight
MVC title. The meet was held at
the University of Northern Iowa in
Cedar Falls.
Greci, a 2017 Lockport Township
High School graduate, and
standout track and field athlete
for the Porters, recalls the bus ride
home was full of celebration and
also a question.
“We were dancing and singing
and we had the trophy,” she said.
“Then I will never forget, someone
asked how many days there
were until the outdoor season
starts. I was able to answer right
away. I was like, ‘33 days.’”
Indeed, on Friday, April 3 and
Saturday, April 4, Illinois State
was supposed to host the Redbird
Invitational. But as the world has
found out, the next two weeks
didn’t go as planned.
“Our spring break was starting,
so a lot of the team went someplace
or out of state,” Greci said of
the first week of March. “But then
the coronavirus came out and day
by day, things began to change.
First, we were going to be having
meets without fans, then it was on
hold for a couple of weeks. At this
point, the writing was on the wall.
“Change was happening in our
lives. Some of the team was on
spring break in Florida and we
were talking and texting them,
They left school for spring break
and then came back and there was
no school. No track team, no outdoor
activities, everything canceled,
classes are all online. All
the student activities and athletics
were canceled in a matter of days.
It was hard to focus. It was shocking.”
Greci says she understands why
this is happening. But it’s still difficult
for her and the thousands of
other college athletes throughout
the state and U.S.
“We don’t know how to think,
we don’t know how to feel,” she
said. “Doing everything we could
and then to all have it taken away.
I feel so sorry for the seniors.
We worked so hard to get to this
point. I feel so sad for them. It’s
probably the last time running
with them. We are trying to see
the good in it, trying to see the
time to heal.
“We do understand why this is
being done. It’s a global issue. I
have loved ones in my life who
could be affected by this. I don’t
want anything to happen to them.”
From the moment that the Redbirds
hosted the annual Coghlan-
Molloy Cup this season on Jan.17
at Horton Fieldhouse, this was
a great season for them and for
Greci.
“It was my third year competing
for the Redbirds and every year it
just got better and better,” Greci
said. “We would usually come
together at the MVC meet at the
end of the season and win that.
But this season we had been doing
well from the start. This year
we knew we were going to win the
MVC meet and we did in record
fashion, breaking a conference record
with 190.16 points.”
Along the way, Greci had some
of her top performances. In the
Cughlin-Malloy Cup, she won
the 400-meter race with a time of
Illinois State University track and
field runner and LTHS graduate
Jaclyn Greci competes at the
Coughlin-Malloy Cup at the
Horton Fieldhouse on Illinois
State’s campus on Friday, Jan.
17. Dennis Banks/Illinois State
University
58.70 seconds. She also led off the
winning 1,600 relay team (4 minutes,
.04 seconds) as the Redbirds
defeated their arch-rival, Indiana
State.
After an outstanding freshman
season at Illinois State, Greci
said she had a disappointing
sophomore season. But this indoor
season she was “really feeling
it.” That included an indoor
PR of 25.56 seconds for a thirdplace
finish on Saturday, Jan. 25
in the Notre Dame Invitational,
and a season-best time of 57.07
seconds in the 400-meter dash on
Friday, Feb. 14 at the Iowa State
Classic.
When she was performing for
the Porters, Greci was a fivetime
IHSA Class 3A individual
state qualifier, plus a three-time
All-Conference and two-time All-
State performer. As a senior, she
finished fourth at the 2017 IHSA
Class 3A State Championships in
the 400-meter dash with a personal-record
time of 56.83
That same season, Greci, who
plans to become a high school
Spanish teacher, was on the Lockport
4x400-meter relay team
which placed fifth in the state.
Overall she helped the Porters go
undefeated during her senior year
while being a member of the National
Honor Society and graduating
in the top 10 percent of her
class.
Lockport girls track and field
coach Joe Kravitz has no doubt
that Greci will get back to the top
next season.
“I know that last season didn’t
go how she had hoped, and she really
worked hard to rebound this
season,” Kravitz said. “From my
experiences with her I know even
with this setback, she will continue
to accomplish great things next
year.”
There is talk about the NCAA
adding another year of eligibility
to those who’s seasons were canceled.
While that could be good,
Greci isn’t sure how it would work
or if she could or would take advantage
of it.
“I don’t know the exact logistics
of that extra eligibility at the moment,”
she said. “I just know this
was my comeback season and for it
to be stopped is pretty hard. But the
coaches have all been great. They
say to stay safe and stay strong.”
LISTEN UP
“No track team, no outdoor activities, everything canceled, classes
are all online. All the student activities and athletics were canceled
in a matter of days. It was hard to focus. It was shocking.”
Jaclyn Greci — Studnet-athlete from Homer Glen, on the impact of the
coronavirus on Illinois State University
Tune In
Illinois State Track & Field
• The Missouri Valley Conference
canceled all events for the remainder of
the 2020 academic year.
Index
29 - Athlete of the Week
FASTBREAK is compiled by Assistant Editor Benjamin
Conboy, b.conboy@22ndcenturymedia.com.