indoor track and field | The Dunmorean

King’s College sophomore Jillian Korgeski of Dunmore became the first ever All-American in track and field in just the second year of the program by finishing fifth in the nation in shot put with a career-best and school record throw of 14.12 meters (46’4″) at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships on Saturday at the Al B. Carius Track on the campus of North Central College in Naperville, IL.

“It feels awesome,” Korgeski said of her achievement. “I could not imagine it happening but it’s so exciting that it did. It really hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

“I was really thrilled to set a personal record on that throw. Going into the event I knew that I would have to have my best throw to have a chance and I am lucky I did. I am so happy to be able represent King’s like this. All the coaches have done so much for me and with our program being so new I am proud to be able to help get King’s name out there.”

Korgeski entered the competition seated in 12th place and with her personal best throw successfully moved into 5th place.

“We are very happy for Jill and extremely proud of her as she has a tremendous work-ethic and it paid off today,” said King’s head coach Mike Kolinovsky. “For our program to have an All-American in just our second year means a lot and it’s an accomplishment we don’t take for granted. It’s incredibly difficult to do and Jill is a testament to the hard work that our athletes and coaches have put forth. We are also grateful to have such an excellent throwing coach in Bernie Bieski and he deserves a lot of credit for helping Jill to reach this level.”

Jillian is a sophomore in the Physician Assistant Program with a 3.62 GPA. Jillian is also a member of the King’s College Volleyball Team. Korgeski will now enjoy her tremendous accomplishment and look forward to the outdoor season in which King’s will which began on March 25 .

Korgeski is currently a freshman at King’s College studying to become a physician’s assistant.

King’s College freshman Jill Korgeski was recently named the Middle Atlantic Conference women’s indoor track and field “Field Athlete of the Week. It was the third consecutive week for the Dunmore student to be honored by the conference.

At the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championship held at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, the weekend of Feb. 27-28, Korgeski entered as the top seed in the shot put and held the seventh-best weight throw mark. She ended up with first place in shot put with a throw of 13. 7 meters (44 feet 11-½ inches), which is her personal best.

Her first place mark earned 10 points for the King’s women’s team. She is currently ranked 14th in the nation for NCAA Division III schools, and will know by the end of this week if she will be competing at Nationals. Last year, her Dunmore High School personal best in shot put was 40.06 feet.

Jillian also came in fourth place for weight throw at 13.40 meters, which is 43 feet 11.75 inches, also her personal best in her first year with this sport. Her fourth place mark earned the King’s College women’s team five points for the meet.

Korgeski had an impressive start to her collegiate career by finishing third in the shot put at the DeSchriver Invitational at Division II East Stroudsburg University.. Her season-best throw of 12.61 meters was the top Division III mark at the meet. She currently has the top mark in the MAC in the shot put and the 33rd best mark in the nation.

She also finished 10th in the weight throw with a throw of 11.26 meters. That mark is currently ranked 10th best in the conference.

Jill continued her impressive freshman year by winning the shot put with a throw of 12.14 meters at the Albright College Invitational on Feb. 13 in Reading. She finished third in the weight throw with a season best mark of 12.20 meters, besting her own previous best by 1.03 meters.

Korgeski finished 2nd in the shot put at the SU Open at Susquehanna University the weekend of Feb. 20-21. She was the top collegiate finisher with a throw of 12.58 meters. That mark is the second-best throw in the MAC this year, just .03 meters short of the top mark Korgeski had at the East Stroudsburg earlier in the month. She also finished 16th overall and 4th among MAC throwers in the weight throw with a distance of 11.58 meters.

Jillian is a 2015 Dunmore High School graduate. she is a Physician Assistant student who made the Dean’s List at King’s College for Fall 2015, and who also participates in volleyball as well as track and field.