The Heartland CC Hawks are gaining national recognition
NORMAL, Ill. — The Athletics program at Heartland Community College, is making itself known across the nation as all five of the fall sports fought their way to a National appearances in 2021. Women鈥檚 Cross Country earned Nationals Runner-up, Men鈥檚 Cross Country placed 3rd, Women鈥檚 Volleyball placed 7th, Men鈥檚 Soccer finished 12th, and Women鈥檚 Soccer brought home the National Championship.
鈥淪uccess breeds success,鈥� Heartland Community College Women鈥檚 Soccer player, Bekah Nielsen reminds us, 鈥淲hen you see your fellow athletes working hard and achieving success, it fuels your competitive nature to do the same.鈥� Lucia Cuadra, also Women鈥檚 Soccer agrees, 鈥渢he individual successes of each team helped improve everyone overall because seeing how the other teams achieved their goals makes you strive harder for yours.鈥� Carly Baughman, women鈥檚 volleyball adds 鈥渋t felt good to see other teams doing well in their seasons. It was very inspiring聽and pushed the volleyball team to want to work as hard as the other teams did.鈥�
Soccer is not a new sport for Heartland, as it was one of the first sports to 鈥榢ick off鈥� the college鈥檚 Athletic Department years ago. The current coach for both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams is Norman Ramos. The men鈥檚 team initially did not qualify for Nationals this season with their loss to St. Charles in the Central District Finals, however after days of thinking their season was over, they received an unexpected call informing them that another team had to forfeit. The night before the bus left, the Hawks found out had qualified for Nationals after all. The men ended up losing both games and finished 12th, but what an exciting finish to their season none-the-less.
The women came into their soccer season with something to prove. Coach Ramos tells us, 鈥漚fter last year鈥檚 devastating final four loss we came into the year very hungry. We had lost our main piece to the puzzle Jovany Macias (last year鈥檚 head coach, who took an assistant coaching job at Texas A&M International right before this season started). We regrouped and talked amongst ourselves with the idea that we were going back to the national tournament, but this time taking it all.鈥� Jovany left the program with all the pieces to get it done, the Hawks just had to put the work in. And that they did, as the women鈥檚 soccer team were ranked #1 in the country all season long and ultimately took away the National Championship title finishing the season with a 20-0 record.
The goal is to get both soccer teams back to Nationals in 2022 and to take the titles in both. 鈥淲e are losing a lot of talent to graduation, with Alicia, Lucia, Bekah, Ari, Darla, Macey, America, Joana, Apryl, Leslie, Laia and Marta all leaving us, but we do have key returners, Carla, Paula and Zara, that will have to assume responsibility for next year.鈥�
Men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 Cross Country just finished their second seasons at Heartland Community College. Led by coach Ty Wolf, both teams went to Nationals last year in their inaugural seasons, so they came into year two with big goals. 鈥淭he process starts with a clear vision鈥� we want to build a championship team culture and have fun!聽As a coach, I ask our runners to: (1) Be All In.聽Give your best in what you do, in the classroom, in running and life.聽Show up 鈥榝ired up鈥� and bring your energy and enthusiasm.聽(2) Strive to be the best version of yourself鈥� physically, mentally and emotionally.鈥� With this energy and coaching philosophy, the Men鈥檚 Cross Country team finished 3rd Place at Nationals and the Women鈥檚 team was Nationals Runner-up.
Coach Wolf is proud of his athletes who will be graduating, 鈥淲e are going to miss all of our sophomores.聽They took a huge risk in coming to Heartland and running for a program that really started out only as a vision.聽Two-time All-American Olivia Bloyd, All-American Brooke Evans and Haley Griebat have been leaders on our women鈥檚 team.聽Two-time All-American Logan Johnson, Jon Neville and Brandon Green have led our men鈥檚 team.鈥� Despite losing some great talent to graduation, Wolf is optimistic about next year鈥檚 success as he returns All-American Grace Spoonhour, Taylor Joop and Katie Geisz for the women鈥檚 team and聽All-Americans Noah Penry, Jesse Golden and Sebastian Meyer along with Briar Nevills, Hunter Roedell, Easton Rosen, Nathan DeMarb and Colton Barb to the men鈥檚 team.
Women鈥檚 Volleyball was also recently added to the Heartland Community College Athletics line-up with 2020 being the inaugural year, however due to COVID, they were not able to play a post season last year. Coach Mary Frahm, her fellow coaches and the players were all really humbled by the way the season ended in the spring. 鈥淲hile it was heartbreaking, our goals to put the program on the national map didn鈥檛 change and our players were only more hungry to accomplish that.鈥� The initial goal for this year鈥檚 team was to win a Region Tournament and then just enjoy whatever kind of national run they could make. 鈥淲e accomplished that, and then some, so as a coach I couldn鈥檛 have asked for more!鈥� Coach Frahm attributes their success to the work the women put in through the summer in the weight room as well as the effort they put into developing their mental games.
Looking ahead to next season, 鈥淲e鈥檝e got big shoes to fill in Carley Baughman and Regan Danko as they really led the defensive efforts of the team. I look forward to seeing the development of some of our freshman this spring as we have time to individually work with them to see who will take that role in the fall.鈥�
Lucas Cook, the Heartland Strength and Conditioning Coach, agrees with Coach Frahm about the efforts of the athletes in the weight room. Cook saw a common denominator in the overall success of the athletes. 鈥淔rom a physical聽standpoint, we were successful this fall because of the focus and intent that the athletes brought to the weight room every day. As many know, there is a hefty physical toll that comes with competing at a high level in any sport. Our athletes were able to perform the way they did because of their commitment to our program and their recovery. Additionally,聽our athletes took an overwhelmingly positive mental approach to lifting this fall. They fully embraced the work and – as a result – strength and health followed.鈥�
Athletic Director, Ryan Knox attributes the overall department success to local athletes and Heartland鈥檚 superior infrastructure. 鈥淗istorically, we are known locally for the successes of a few of our sports. Now, the entire department is operating at an elite level nationally. We have achieved this with the help of local athletes, and we expect that contribution to grow. A successful athletic department is a reflection of an institution鈥檚 facilities, processes and pride as a whole. That鈥檚 felt and supported here top to bottom, and we are honored to represent every student here at Heartland.鈥�
The consensus among the athletes is that regardless of what sport they play, they are one big family. 鈥淭he friendships between the athletes and athletic聽department is like nothing I have ever been a part of. The support that is shown is amazing, Carly Baughman, Women鈥檚 Volleyball tells us. Women鈥檚 Soccer Player Lucia Valero agrees, 鈥渢he athletic family is very supportive coming out to our games and seeing this support and encouragement helps us all improve. Most of us on the soccer team are not from the United States so聽the support from all of them is very meaningful to us. We are all here for the same purpose and aside from our teammates, the athletes in the department are all part of this experience.鈥� Bekah Nielsen, women鈥檚 soccer adds, 鈥淲hen you go to a Heartland sporting event, one of the most amazing things you will see are other Heartland teams out there supporting their fellow athletes. The excitement they generate by coming to games and cheering on their friends is amazing.鈥�
As local, young athletes look to continue their sports careers, it is exciting to know that we have such a strong program right here locally at our very own Heartland Community College! Athletic Director Ryan Knox calls out to local young athletes, 鈥淚鈥檇 love high school students to know how competitive of an athletic program we have in comparison to four-year schools. We offer a unique route that fits a lot of young athlete鈥檚 needs, and we do it very well from our facilities, our support system and the level of play.鈥� Lucas Cook concludes, 鈥淭o athletes considering Heartland Community College, I would ask what they want from a junior college. If they want a place that values their holistic development – as a student, an athlete, and a human being – Heartland is very much worth a hard look.鈥� For more information about the athletics programs at Heartland visit .
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.