Monday, July 20, 2009

Former CSS Cross Country Runner Breaks Record


Courtesy of Kevin Pates of the Duluth News Tribune

Jen Houck, former St. Scholastica cross country won the Park Point 5-mile race on Friday, setting a course record in the process. It was her second straight win in the event.

Houck, 25, and her coach, St. Scholastica Nordic ski coach Chad Salmela, projected a women’s winning time of 28:30, which was dead on. Houck ran 41 seconds faster than 2008 and broke Kari Robertson’s 1997 course record of 28:36. Serena Sullivan, 28, of Hibbing was second in 30:20.

The former St. Scholastica runner also was back in action following the Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon, where she finished 11th in 1:22:08, but wasn’t thrilled with her time.

“Ultimately, I don’t know what my best distance is yet, but I do like longer races,” said Houck, a physical therapist at Villa Maria Health Care Center in Superior. “I’ll run a 10-miler next week, and then my first serious marathon in October at Twin Cities.”

Houck had previously won the Fitger’s 5K in April and the Brian Kraft Memorial 5K in May in Minneapolis.

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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

MacMillan: Women’s Hockey will be “competitive in the first couple of years”


Press Conference Transcription – July 1, 2009

Don Olson, Athletic Directior: “The College of St. Scholastica is very excited to, number one, be starting a women’s hockey program at the intercollegiate level. We have had a club program which, for the past six seasons, has been very successful, had great participation, and the natural transition from that would be to move to an intercollegiate program. We also feel that there’s many positive reasons for starting a program at St. Scholastica, given our geography (Northeastern Minnesota), the strong growth of high school hockey programs in the surrounding area, the strength of our men’s program and the conference which we play in. [It also] gives us a balance between our intercollegiate programs … ten sports on the men’s side and ten sports on the women’s side. So, we feel that’s a positive step for us.
“The first and most important step is to find the right fit as a coach. We conducted a national search. We had a tremendous talent pool, and we feel that, without a doubt, getting Jackie MacMillan to accept our position as the women’s hockey coach at the St. Scholastica is absolutely the right fit. Her background, starting as a player, growing up in Buffalo, Minnesota and being a pioneer in the area, having to play with the boys – not only excelled but took on many leadership roles. She played at Wisconsin, in their inaugural program, and excelled as an athlete and … academically. She was an all-conference performer and an academic all-conference honoree. What she expressed to us, and what we feel, is that participating in that inaugural program will help give her a feel as to what it’s going to mean to those student athlets who are part of our first recruiting class.
"Her experience in coaching at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Union College in Shenectady, New York, and most recently at New England College gives her a broad depth of … knowledge to take on the role as the first women’s hockey coach at the college, and I think, most importantly, being a private, liberal arts college – understanding the value of that … education and the balance between academics and athletics – is something that she well understands. So, it’s my great pleasure to introduce Jackie MacMillan, women’s hockey coach, College of St. Scholastica.”
Jackie MacMillan, Women’s Hockey Coach: “Thanks, Don. I’m extremely excited about the oppurtunity to come to Duluth and be a part of the community at St. Scholastica, and I want to thank Don and the rest of the people to start the program here. It’s an exciting oppurtunity to join the community of Duluth and hockey and all it has to offer, and hopefully, I can help in growing girl’s hockey in the area. I’m excited to work with Coach Wick and the men’s program and think we have a good opportunity to build a relationship between the men’s and women’s programs here. It’s a great opportunity for our student athletes to play hockey here. Hopefully, we can get some of the area girls to want to play – and be impact players – at the Division-III level here, and start a good program here. So, I’m excited about the opportunity.
Josh Zenner, WDIO TV (Duluth): “Jackie, if you had a vision for the team – maybe not so much wins and losses – but the type of team and the type of players, what would you like to see?”
MacMillan: “I’ve talked a lot about the type of players I want to bring in here, and definitely, for me, the value of hard work, a good, hard-working player is something that I really want to start building this program around and players that want to fit in at St. Scholastica and the community and just be good people and good citizens on campus – players who love hockey and want to be here for the right reasons.”
Rick Weegman, Duluth News Tribune: “About being a first-year player at Wisconsin, will you use any of that experience to help you in your first year here at St. Scholastica?”
MacMillan: “Yeah, when I found out that St. Scholastica was starting a program here, I thought that would be a very appealing opportunity for me since I had that experience as a player … It was very unique and very special, something I will never forget. Just wanting to give back and give players the opportunity to experience something very exciting. Actually, I was at Wisconsin the year before we actually started the program, and I was practicing with the men’s team. It was a very unique experience with me.”
Weegman: “That was something you will familiar with, being around the boys?”
MacMillan: “Yeah, it was quite an adjustment for me, going from boy’s hockey to girl’s hockey. There’s such a different dynamic, going from playing with boy’s to playing with girls.”
Weegman: “How was the experience of playing with boys in Buffalo (Minnesota)?”
MacMillan: “They were like brothers. They knew that I just wanted to play hockey … They were very protective of me. It was such a great experience, you know, I am still talking to a lot of them. They were excited for me to have the opportunity to go off to college and play.”
Tom Hansen, Northland’s Newscenter (Duluth): “Was it just a bonus that you had relatives in the area – you were originally born in Duluth, correct? (MacMillan: “Yep.”) Was it your goal to return to Duluth?”
MacMillan: “It’s interesting, because every time I came back here [with Wisconsin] to play against the Bulldogs, it just happened to be a family event, and I always had 30 or 40 people in the stands that were cheering me on. We had quite the Wisconsin contigent just because of my family. It wasn’t something that I originalyl planned, but it just happened to be a unique opportunity and a great fit. The school itself – I’ve been part of the small school atmosphere in a private college – was just a great fit for me.”
Hansen: “You’ve coached at the division-III level [and the division I level] as well as played at the division-I level. Is there a seperation there, between the two levels?”
MacMillan: “Less and less now. With the growth of women’s hockey in the past five years, it’s completely different now. The level of play has gotten so much better. The school I was coaching at the past two years, New England College, I think we could have played some Division-I schools … and be very competitive. The gap is closing and today’s women’s hockey players want to play hockey, and are serious about it. Whether it’s Division-III or Division-I, they want to play hockey; they want to be good hockey players; and they want to be part of a good program.”
Weegman: “Any plans on where to recruit from?”
MacMillan: “Well, first, I want to get the best players around the area in Northern Minnesota, but I want to get the most competitive players and the players who are going to be impact players at the Division-III level. You know, the players I am looking for will be the players that could play at the Division-I level but they want to be impact players at the D-III level and have a good experience at a great institution.”
Hansen: “[In regards to the club team,] what will your role be? Will there be potential players on your team two years from now?”
MacMillan: “I certainly would be scared to have 20 freshmen the first year, so I think, starting there and having conversations with any players who are part of the club program and are interested would be a good first step … I’m sure I will be around and would like to watch some games … I am sure I will be on the road quite a bit trying to field a time. I’ll be around to watch the games as much as I can and talking to those who hope to be a part of the program.”
Zenner: “How do you think it will take to field a competitive team [in the NCHA]?”
MacMillan: “I’m an ambitious, competitive person so I’m hoping to be competitive in the first couple of years. There’s a lot of good players out there and they all need a team. Finding a good first couple of classes, I think we will be competitive within the conference. Before long, I think we will be a top team in the country – that’s one of my goals. Obviously, I’m taking it one step at a time.”
Weegman: “Do you know if there are already a lot of players on campus that will be a part of the program?”
Olson: “Maybe I can [answer this.] I just spoke with the club coach this morning … Our roster on the club program has been in the range of 16-17 student athletes … Our estimation would be that there would be four to seven or eight members who would be willing [and able] to compete at the varsity level … and also six or seven incoming freshmen [for the 2009-10 school year] who might be interested in two years.”
Weegman: “How many applicants did you have and how important was it for you to get the coach in place now?”
Olson: “We had 55 candidates, and we felt very, very strong about our pool of candidates. The strategy at the College of St. Scholastica – football being the most recent example – has been to … hire a coach at least a year in advance, giving the coach the opportunity to recruit, to plan the schedule, to buy equipment, and those types of things. It was very important for us to start this summer and find the right fit. We are very excited about the process and the result, and now, we move forward from there.”
Dana Moore, Volleyball Coach: “[Coach MacMillan,] you recently finished your master’s degree, and [the committee didn’t hear] a more strong recommendation than from one of your professors. Can you tell us a little about your master’s program?”
MacMillan: “I participated in the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s educational leadership program. It was a two-year program that involved class work, but mainly, I focused on a project, the development of team cohesion, which works very well with what I’m doing now. I followed a team for an entire season, watching a program which was known for traditionally winning a championship, and it was just an interesting process. Hopefully now, I can use what I learned on that to help develop team cohesion in my program here.”
Hansen: “Obviously, [the team will] practice and play at [Mars Lakeview Arena], is there any thoughts to doing anything else locker room-wise or facility-wise over at that complex to accommodate?”
Olson: “I’ve had a lot of conversations with the board and Brandan Flaherty, the rink manager, and we are working on that process. We are looking at several different plans, and that’s the best I can say now.”
Jesse Robinson, Sports Information Director: “Thank you for attending. Don and Jackie will be available outside for further questions.”