By Colin Likas, The News-Gazette
clikas@news-gazette.media
Read on News-Gazette.com
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Brenda Kendziera won't get to finish her Illinois track and field career quite like her older brother was able to.
David Kendziera raced in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles races during the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships, with the then-Illini senior ranking second in the former and third in the latter. His 400 time of 48.42 seconds broke a school record in the event.
Quite the going-away party.
Brenda Kendziera was finding her footing in time for her senior campaign. She "finally got it all figured out" when it came to being a multi-sport competitor in the pentathlon and heptathlon.
"I kind of went through a lot during my time at the U of I because we had a lot of coaching switches and my event changes and stuff like that," Kendziera said. "I was finally there to do my events, and then coronavirus."
Kendziera now is coming to terms with her Illini tenure ending with several meets still on the table. Multiple chances to suit up, at long last, in the heptathlon.
She won't be exercising the extra year of eligibility offered to by the Division I Council last week, instead planning to start graduate school at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and focusing specifically on forensic psychology.
"I've come to accept it. I think I'm doing pretty good in that respect," Kendziera said. "But having the chance to go D-I, especially at a Big Ten school, that's something that not many people get to have. Almost no one gets to have that."
Kendziera didn't end up in Champaign-Urbana simply because of her family's pre-existing ties, although that played a role. The Mount Prospect native sought a college location not too far from home, but also not in her back yard.
"In comparison to other campuses, it just has a home feeling," Kendziera said. "I was psyched being part of the team, too."
But Kendziera was recruited as a multi-event athlete out of Prospect High School, and her freshman season with the Illini didn't see her utilized quite as she anticipated. Kendziera recalls the experience as "really upsetting," although one of the self-described big moments of her career occurred in that inaugural run, when she set a new personal best in the high jump (5 feet, 5 1/4 inches) at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
"I had my first attempt and missed it," she said. "Second attempt, missed it. Third attempt, there was no doubt in my mind — I'm getting over it. I'm getting a spot in this Big Ten meet."
Even with that accomplishment in her back pocket, Kendziera struggled mentally with branching away from her initial recruitment plan.
When assistant coach Jacob Cohen started working with Kendziera in her sophomore season, the tide began to turn in Kendziera's favor.
"Jake actually trained me. Freshman year, I didn't feel like I had much training. I was just used for high jump and used to help one of our best high jumpers calm down during competition," Kendziera said. "It kind of messed with me physically and mentally.
"He reminded me of the person that I was. He saw potential in me, and he worked very hard to make me realize that."
Kendziera's junior year included personal bests in the 60- and 100-meter hurdles. Her last-ever Illinois meet, the latest Big Ten Indoor Championships, included her taking part in the pentathlon.
She never was officially involved in a heptathlon for the Illini, noting she never threw a javelin.
"I worked so hard," Kendziera said, "and I feel like this was the year I was going to start showing where I grew from high school."
Interestingly enough, Kendziera is trying to stay involved with athletics in her post-Illinois career by applying for a job as a Prospect High assistant volleyball coach. It'd return her to her prep roots in that sport, which she gave up along with basketball to pursue college track and field.
"I had my interview (last Thursday), and think it went pretty well," Kendziera said. "It would just be really cool if I could give kids or just high-schoolers the experience I had."
