Erik Janc '19 Recruiting Profile

I would love to run cross country and Track at the collegiate level because I love running and it is my favorite activity. In the past three seasons, not only have I develeoped an amazing work ethic, but the bonds I have formed with teammates could have only come through a program like this. I give 100% in anything I do, and I think that is what makes someone a good runner. I have never had natural talent when it comes to running, but over the past four years I have given the maximum possible effort to become a stronger runner while overcome setbacks, such as broken ankles. I have always seen myself as a strong leader and always strive to be a role model for anyone that could look up to me.

Going into my senior year, I am very excited to see where I can go. I am not only expecting it to be a great season for me personally, but for the team as a whole. Every member of the team and each of the coaches is optomistic about the upcoming cross country and track seasons, and I personally feel like it is going to be an excellent year for me.

Below is a link to my page on the Illinois MileSplit website. It has times from all of my races (does not include 4x800 and 4x400 relays) over the past 3 years:

http://https://il.milesplit.com/athletes/5616852#.WzTYtCtOmEc

In my junior year, I set significant personal records in every event during Cross Country and Track. Part of this was due to the fact that the Cross Country season was my first full season in high school. My freshman year, I injured my achilles and was out for 3 weeks. Later that year, during indoor track, I caught a virus and was only able to run a single meet. This carried into the outdoor season, where I only ran 3 meets, yet still set PRs in both the 1600 and 3200. During the summer before sophomore year, I broke my ankle while training. I did not run for the rest of the summer, could not go to the team camp, and wasn’t able to run for the first half of the season. After many months of physical therapy and biking almost daily to stay in shape, I was able to return for the final 3 meets of the year, in the last of which I set a PR by almost 40 seconds. Because of my time, I was put on the state series roster as an alternate. Into the indoor track season, I still had to wear and ankle brace. As soon as I was allowed to run without it, I injured my knee in the same leg and was in a large brace for most of the indoor season. Despite all of these injuries earlier in the year, I managed to PR in every one of my events. The next summer, I worked as hard as I could to be in shape and healthy for cross country. I dropped more than a minute off of my 3 mile PR, which is currently 16:45. I realized later that not only was this my first full season, but that it was by far the best, and if I kept working I would get faster. Early on in indoor, I could tell I would have another good season. I ran a 2:17 800, which was a 3 second PR, came close to my mile PR, and was a part of the varsity 4x800 relay that had been downstate the past 4 seasons. At the conference meet, I ran 2:12 in the second leg of the 4x800 and I ran a 2:13 800 later that meet. Unfortunately, I was the first alternate for the 4x800 on the sectional roster. The relay team qualified for state, and, being an alternate, I went downstate with them. I ran the open mile under the lights at state, and I ran a 5:00.02. Along with being beyond ecstatic, I was disappointed because I had missed my goal by .02 seconds. One of my teammates suggested running a post season meet hosted by a nearby high school called Magis Miles. If it sounds like a bunch of runners sign up and run 30 heats of miles, that’s exactly what it is. At Magis, I won my heat and finished the 1600 at 4:53.53. 

During my senior year of Cross Country, my goal is to drop time at every meet, even if it is just 3-4 seconds. Another goal is to break 16:00. One of my quirks is that I like to drop more time each consecutive season. For example, I dropped 1:04 off my 3 mile time over the course of last season, so I will try to drop at least 1:05 this season. By the end of outdoor, I want to be able to run a 4:40 1600 and 2:04 800. One of my big goals is to have the opportunity to run in college. While I will not chose a school based strictly on competing, I would love for the opportunity to run at any school that I may end up at.