Danie Kelso’s story is not all that much different than thousands of other athletes.

She has had coaches who coached her, coaches who inspired her, coaches who pushed her, coaches who motivated her, coaches who encouraged her and coaches who helped put her on the path to success.

The roles of many of her coaches spilled over into various categories.

The recent St. Joseph-Ogden graduate has committed to Millikin University, in Decatur, to continue her track and field career.

The decision, however, didn’t fulfill a lifelong dream.

“I got a few letters from a couple different colleges approaching me about running, but I was never very interested,” Kelso said. “By about January of my senior year, I knew that this was something I wanted to do.”

Kelso had a star-studded running career, which started before she reached high school. She ran on a state runner-up relay while in junior high and was part of a state championship relay team in high school.

The constant throughout her running career is the contributions from those who were called, ‘Coach.’

“In middle school cross-country, Coach (Corey) Plotner and McD (John McDannald), had a huge impact on me as a runner,” Kelso said. “They pushed the team to be the best we could and to keep going when it gets hard, but to also have fun while doing it.”

Kelso ran cross-country through her freshman year at SJ-O, when she decided to focus her attention on being a sprinter in track.

“Even after I decided to no longer continue running cross-country, I took these life lessons with me to track and life in general,” Kelso said. “Cross-country helped me build up my character.

“The middle school track coaches were Mr. (Grant) Risley and Mr. (Zach) Steele. My passion for track started while being coached by them and they set the foundation for the rest of my running career.”

Kelso’s high school coaches picked up where her predecessors left off.

“Going into high school, my coaches consisted of Mr. (Jason) Retz, Ms. (Kelly) Steffen and Matt Umbarger,” Kelso said. “These coaches pushed me to be the best athlete that I could possibly be and helped me see my potential.

“Throughout all of high school, I felt very cared about and loved by the coaching staff and I wouldn’t be the runner I am today without their support.”

The impact of each coach was tremendous, Kelso said, but one person in particular played a recurring key role.

“Ms. Steffen had the greatest impact on me, as a runner and as a person,” Kelso said. “She has been a role model for me and I am so grateful to have had her as a coach and a teacher.”

Despite Kelso’s contributions to the Spartans’ program, continuing to run after high school was not a long-time goal.

“I actually did not have the plan of running after high school,” Kelso said. “I have always been more focused on starting my path to being a nurse more than anything.”

What changed, she said, was discovering a place where she felt right at home.

“My recruitment process was pretty simple, in all honesty,” Kelso said. “On my visit to Millikin, I met a few coaches and some of the teammates and I loved the environment. It almost reminded me of SJ-O.

“I was convinced pretty quickly after meeting everyone there and I started envisioning myself on the team as a sprinter. After visiting the Millikin track team, I was set on continuing my running career.”

Competing in college became more of a priority for Kelso after her senior season was cut short before it began due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am heartbroken by the way my last high school track season ended, but this taught me to never take anything for granted,” Kelso said. “I didn’t know that when I crossed the finish line (as a junior) it would be my last time. That’s why it’s so important to give all you have, every chance you have.

“Track has shaped my character in many ways and I have learned some hard and good lessons from this sport. Everything I’ve achieved has been through hard work and sacrifice. I’ll carry on these lessons in life.”

Kelso’s last high school race on an outdoor track was the one that enabled her to gather a state championship medal.

She ran the leadoff leg for the 800-meter relay and was followed by Atleigh Hamilton, Hailey Birt and Maclayne Taylor. Anchor runner Taylor was the lone senior on the foursome, which was timed in 1 minute, 44.81 seconds.

In all, Kelso earned two state medals during high school track. In junior high, she ran on the second-place 1,600-meter relay as a seventh-grader.

Kelso said Millikin met all of her needs as she looks to the future.

“I picked Millikin because of their great nursing program,” she said. “It is also very close to home. Being able to come back and see my family is very important to me.

“They have a small campus (about 2,000 students) and this is also very appealing to me. Millikin’s track team was really just the icing on the cake. I’m thankful to find a school with the major I need and great athletics.”

As she conducted her college search, Kelso had a single-minded purpose.

“All of my college searching was surrounded by the school’s nursing program,” she said. “I didn’t really look into track programs or communicate with other schools about running.

“After deciding to attend Millikin University when I was accepted into their nursing program, running track practically just fell into my lap.”

There was a mutual interest.

“The first coach that really reached out to me and pursued me was Andrew Craycraft, the director of Millikin Track and Field,” Kelso said.

Kelso’s ultimate life goal, she said is “working as a registered nurse in either labor and delivery or in the NICU.”

She was involved in a multitude of activities as a youngster, including softball and cheerleading, before finding a favorite sport with sprinting.

“Once running came into the picture, I focused on that more than anything,” Kelso said.

Coaches helped to foster her love for running.

“I started to focus on track mostly because of my passion that grew for sprinting throughout the years,” Kelso said. “I just wanted to be the best that I possibly could. I loved the feeling after a good race, nothing beats it.

“The appeal of track and field was the team environment and the satisfaction of seeing your times drop from meet to meet. Once I first started running track in middle school, it became first on my list of priorities.”

She didn’t consider herself a natural.

“It took me a while to see the talent and potential that I have,” Kelso said. “I used to always think of myself as the ‘underdog’ or just a few steps behind my teammates, but as I made it into high school, the coaches really lifted me up and they believed in me.”

The coaches showed their support, not just with words, but also by actions.

“They trusted me with a lot, especially my freshman year when they decided to have me lead the 4×4 relay at state prelims,” Kelso said. “There was a lot of pressure placed on me by going out of the blocks and starting a relay at state.

“By doing this, my confidence was boosted. Not every freshman gets a chance to run at state, but the coaches believed in me and this made me believe in myself.”

Kelso didn’t get the opportunity to run in the state finals as a freshman, but she knew nonetheless that she could compete on the state’s largest stage.

Her teammates knew it, too, voting her as the team’s Spartan Award winner as a ninth-grader.

After stepping away from the track for a couple months this spring during the pandemic, Kelso has resumed her workouts.

“Once the track season was officially over, I decided to take a break and focus on the end of the school year and let my body rest for a while,” she said. “Once June started, I began to get back into shape.

“Ms. Steffen creates workouts for me to do on the track, and I’ve also been running some distance as well to build up some endurance.”

Throughout the years, Kelso has learned the value of hitting the weights.

“Lifting was a big part of my growth as a sprinter,” she said. “I gained so much strength and speed from lifting in the weight room. I also built up my confidence in the process.

“Lifting was my favorite part of practices at times. I am proud of the gains I made by lifting and I wouldn’t be the sprinter I am without strength training.”

Kelso hit a squat max of 230 pounds, but added, “I was shooting for much higher during my senior year. It is disappointing to not have been able to see what more I could have done.

Now that she has signed a letter of intent with Millikin University, Kelso has four more years to continue seeing what she can do.

The post Danie Kelso to continue track and field career at Millikin University first appeared on SJO Daily.

What does it take to move past hurdles that continue to knock you down?

For St. Joseph-Ogden’s Anna Tranel, it’s team.

“I had a different track career then most,” Tranel said. “My freshman and sophomore year I did not run for more than half the year due to an injury. My junior year, I was dealing with an injury and multiple other things that led me to the decision of being the track manager. I don’t have a huge highlight like going to state or being state champs.”

She was hoping that her highlight reel might include a healthy senior year where she could end her nine-year track and field experience doing something she has grown to enjoy, running middle distance races.

When the COVID-19 pandemic turned that vision inside out, Tranel began to have trouble with motivation. That is, until her team stepped in.

“A group chat with other teammates has motivated me to continue working hard and staying in shape,” she said. “Seeing other teammates running and working out helps me see that our team isn’t going to give up during this time.”

That team spirit, a loving nudge that keeps each Spartan moving forward, is something that Tranel knows is unique.

“I have always been a Spartan and I wouldn’t want to be a part of any other team,” she said. “I have watched other teams walk off their bus at a track meet and they don’t look like a team. I have watched other teams warm-up and they don’t look like a team. 

“Our team has created a family that’s welcoming and doesn’t give up. We stay for the whole track meet in order to cheer our team on which is one of my favorite things about our track team. We make sure everyone is the best they can be. 

“I love being able to have a family outside of my own and it allows me to make more friends and connect with so many people on a different level compared to during school hours.”

Head Coach Kelly Steffen has also provided a spark for Tranel.

“She isn’t just a coach or a teacher, she is someone you can talk to. She has always been so understanding and always wants the best for everyone. Coach Steffen was always understanding and always helped me work around what I was going through. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have decided to run track my senior year.”

Whether or not the Spartan seniors will step back on the track is still to be determined. St. Joseph-Ogden administration has left the door open to the possibility during the summer of 2020.

“Even though I may not ever run again, I want people to be able to see that even though we didn’t have school or practice we still didn’t give up and we continued to try our hardest,” she said.

It’s a lesson she learned during practice.

“We were running 100 yard repeats every 60 seconds,” she said. “We were told we would run 20 and maybe be pulled out if you were struggling. When we got to the 10th one, everyone wanted to quit, including myself, and I heard someone say ‘Why do we have to do this?’ I responded ‘We don’t have to, we get to.’

“We don’t have to go to practice everyday or run, we get to. I learned not to give up through that practice because it wasn’t something I had to do, it was something I got to do.”

Anna is planning to go to either Parkland College or Augustana University to study actuary science. 

The post St. Joseph-Ogden’s Anna Tranel made it through with her team first appeared on SJO Daily.

St. Joseph-Ogden’s Anna Wentzloff has had to live through the unexpected. 

At age 16 she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma— formerly known as Hodgkin’s disease — a cancer of the lymphatic system.

But Wentzloff also knows how to get through the unexpected. In March 2019 Wentzloff went into remission.

Since then, Anna was part of the St. Joseph-Ogden Volleyball team that placed third in the IHSA 2A State tournament in 2019 and the 2020 girls’ basketball team that won their Class 2A Regional. 

Visiting Redbird Arena in uniform was a familiar experience for Wentzloff. As a junior the Spartans’ girls’ basketball team took home the third place IHSA 2A State state trophy. 

But then the unexpected happened in mid-March when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The senior, who was looking forward to returning to the track field to set personal records in shot put and discus, learned that the season would be put on pause and eventually canceled by the IHSA.

St. Joseph-Ogden has previously said that if summer competitions are allowed, they will consider allowing their athletes the opportunity to compete.

Wentzloff, known for her energy both on and off the field, has continued to keep a positive outlook.

“Whether I am competing or not is to be a positive leader that contributes in any way to the team,” she said.

“I have grown up in the Spartan Program and have been a part of the team all four years. It has been amazing to compete with all the talent athletes and be a part of a success program.”

St. Joseph-Ogden seniors will say goodbye to their Spartan experience this weekend as they walk across the stage with their diploma. For Wentzloff, that experience has included a lot of love and support. 

“I have had many coaches, adults and family members who have supported me over the years,” Wentzloff said. “One coach that sticks out is our head coach, Coach (Kelly) Steffen. She always has an awesome positive attitude and truly cares about each of us.”

As Wentzloff moves on to Parkland College with her sights set on transferring to the University of Illinois to major in human and family development, she will remember the lessons she’s learned as an athlete at St. Joseph-Ogden:

“Being an athlete has taught me that you can have success, win or lose,” she said. “Working hard, being apart of the team and the memories you take with you is your true success.”

The post Anna Wentzloff to look back on true St. Joseph-Ogden success: memories first appeared on SJO Daily.