By Hannah Urban
Jorge Colin has a passion not just for the men's and women's cross country teams, but for CLC athletics in general, and his desire for excellence in junior college sports shows in not only his personality, but also in the groundbreaking success of his teams.
His love for cross country began in high school, and he enjoyed running throughout his military service. Colin has been serving in the Navy for 13 years and is currently a reservist.
In 2008, he left the Navy in order to pursue his education, and earned his associate's degree at CLC.
After completing his degree, Colin transferred to Southern Illinois University and earned a bachelor's degree in Workforce Education and Development.
This degree worked to his benefit as he resumed his military service as a Navy recruiter.
Currently, Colin works at Abbvie as the head of the Veteran Recruitment division, utilizing his dynamism and drive to draw veterans into his company.
During Colin's separation to pursue education, he contacted the CLC cross country coach, who was Steve Blomgren at the time.
"I had told Steve (Coach Blomgren) I was too old to race, but he told me to come out anyways and run with the team." Colin said.
While he didn't expect to run any races, in 2009 he qualified for the national meet.
"Around that time I called my high school coach and started talking about cross country programs," Colin said. "I approached Coach Blomgren and he became the brains of the operation."
In 2010, Colin secured an internship with Blomgren and acted as an assistant coach, watching Blomgren adjust the new program they had created and tweak it as they went.
"I know our program will be successful wherever it is implemented," Colin said.
The results have been dramatic, especially in the men's team.
"We have sent at least two men to the national meet every year since 2009," Colin said.
The 2013 men's cross country team won the conference title, and the 2014 men's team won the conference and sectional meets, qualifying the whole team for the national race.
The CLC cross country team had never before qualified as a whole team for nationals, and they finished 20th in the nation for all junior colleges, a fantastic feat for a previously suffering team.
Colin said community colleges should be stepping stones for athletes and academics.
"Students should be using CLC as preparation for Division 1 athletics and academics," Colin said. "High school and college are not the same, and CLC provides ideal training for the transition to Division 1 athletics and big schools alike."
Since the new program was introduced, cross country athletes have transferred to running schools such as North Central College and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
The biggest challenge for CLC's cross country is recruiting women.
"I see high school women's cross country teams with 40 to 50 girls and I think, 'I'm not asking for all of them, just one or two,'" Colin said.
Other than recruiting, Colin could not find another issue that he was worried about for this season.
"I have to try not to sound too cocky, but you heard the guys," he said. "Their times are looking great compared to other community colleges."
For anyone pursuing athletics at CLC, Colin suggests that they commit early.
"I have all these scholarships to give out, but I can't give them to someone who starts a month late." Colin said. "The sooner the commitment, the more preparation you have for that season and those at other schools."
Colin's enthusiasm and experience with cross country will take the teams to new heights and will further the cause of junior college athletics at CLC.
