Jessica Sommerfeld (middle, with throwers Ryan Bennett and Kandace Arnold) is in her third year as the Track & Field Assistant Head Coach.
A graduate of Rice University, Sommerfeld earned a Western Athletic Conference championship in the shot put and was named the Joyce Pounds Hardy top student-athlete her graduating year, 2001. Sommerfeld brings a wealth of knowledge to the EIU program, especially in the throwing events, after earning her masters' degree while competing at Arkansas and successful coaching stops at TCU and South Dakota State University.
How did you become interested in track and field, specifically in throwing?
At a young age I joined the track and field team because my brother was a very good high school high jumper and overall athlete. I really believed that I was going to be a high jumper just like him, even though my brother is seven inches taller than I am and has a different body build. I started off doing the high jump, sprints, and relays in 7th grade until I had a misfortunate accident in the high jump. Let's just say the floor is a much harder landing area than the mats.
After that experience, my brother guided me with his typical older brother “wisdom” by telling me “you are not a high jumper”. After I healed up I still continued to do sprints, relays, triple jump and very little high jump, but I started to excel at the discus and shot put. During my 8th grade year I was pulled up to the high school team to compete and I began to work on my third throwing event, the javelin.
I had an amazing coach, Joe Howell, who coached me to Top 10 rankings in high school in three events: shot put, discus and the javelin. He inspired me to do better and provided the guidance to improve my technique. I really enjoyed the confidence that success brought me and I realized that I could get financial help for my college education and to places that I always dreamed of going.
Out of all your amazing accomplishments as a Rice University student-athlete, what do you consider to be your No. 1 highlight?
My No. 1 highlight as a student-athlete would have to be winning several team championships at Rice. It took many individual performances to come together and win as a team; the wonderful memories of these championships will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
When did you decide you wanted to become a coach, and why?
My high school coach had a lot to do with inspiring me to become a coach. He always knew how to get the most out of his athletes and how to help them find their own internal fire for competition. He was not a big “rah-rah” speech kind of guy; he just knew how to get you to find the motivation to make yourself a better athlete. So this obviously planted a seed in me.
The success I had as an athlete also inspired me and I have a great interest in how the body functions. The sport has given me so much and I knew it was time to give back; what better way than to instill that fire in a few of my own athletes!
What interested you in joining the Eastern Illinois athletic family?
There are several things that made Eastern Illinois attractive to me. One of them was the facilities that we have here. I love being able to walk out of my office onto the track and know that if there is inclement weather I can walk across the track into our field house. The indoor facility is also vital to our athletes for winter training and keeping practice times consistent year round. I also really like how all of our athletic facilities are in one area of campus. The view from the top of the outside stairs on the Southside of Lantz Arena in the late spring when everything is green is a pretty spectacular view.
One of the most important reasons EIU was attractive to me was Coach Tom Akers. He is a great coach with a winning tradition to prove it. He knows how to win “the right way” – with integrity and a team-oriented approach. Not all teams are teams, but here at EIU our program is a team despite all the different events. With continued support from our administration we will be able to continue winning championships for EIU due to Coach Akers' leadership.
As a coach, what would you consider to be your No. 1 highlight as a skipper in track & field?
Former Panther thrower Kandace Arnold (Evergreen Park, Ill.) qualifying for the NCAA Championship meet is definitely a coaching highlight that I will never forget. She made great progress athletically and competitively, but more importantly I saw her mature in many ways from the time I came to EIU until she graduated.
Compared to the rest of the conferences in the nation, how would the track & field competitive level of the OVC compare?
Compared to programs with similar funding we do very well. This is very evident with the recent successes of our current and recently graduated student-athletes:
• Kandace Arnold became the first ever EIU women's qualifier for the D-I National Track and Field Championships and placed 16th, which was just short of becoming an All-American.
• Middle distance runner David Holm (Calgary, Alberta Canada) also finished with the 12th fastest ranking in the indoor 800 back in 2009.
• Freshman Michael 'Mick' Viken (Rolling Meadows, Ill.) is currently ranked No. 1 in the Pole Vault.
• Decatur native Zye Boey also qualified for both the 2009 Indoor and Outdoor NCAA Championships, and is currently ranked 3rd and 9th nationally for the 200 and 60-Meter dashes, respectively.
• Erika Ramos (Hoopeston, Ill.), another middle distance runner, is currently ranked 3rd nationally in the indoor 800-Meter.
What would some of your ultimate goals be in regard to coaching at the Division I level?
An ultimate coaching goal of mine would be to qualify as many of my athletes for the NCAA meet as possible, have them earn All-American status and to see a current or former athlete of mine qualify for the Olympic Games. Another goal would be to have our men's and women's teams here at EIU continue to sweep the OVC indoor and outdoor track and field championships.
What other activities do you enjoy partaking in? Do you have any hidden talents (juggling, piano, etc.)?
I enjoy partaking in many outdoor activities like fishing and hunting, plus participating in other sporting events like volleyball, softball, and bowling. One of my hidden talents is that I can play the piano.
As a native of North Dakota, how would you compare the wintery weather that we “enjoy” here in Illinois to what you've seen in your hometown?
Obviously, the wintery weather that we have here in Illinois is quite mild compared to where I grew up. I still do not like our coldest days (in Charleston), but they are much more infrequent. My first winter here I wore my winter coat for only about two weeks total; it was fabulous. But now as my blood has “thinned” I have to wear my winter coat a bit more.
Do you have any interesting stories to share about the extreme weather that you may have encountered in North Dakota?
People always love to hear about how we actually plug our cars in during the winter. We have a small extension cord that runs out of the grill of our cars that attaches to a block heater so the car will start when you need it to. It is most definitely needed since we annually see temperatures of negative 70-degrees or less, when you add in the wind chill. It can sometimes get so cold that your radiator will freeze.
My senior year of high school we had record snow falls of 10 feet, which would turn into huge snow drifts after the wind blew. The National Guard actually had to come in to blow the snow off the roads, which created large tunnels that were taller than cars and pick-ups. I cannot imagine back in the day when they used to actually plow the snow. My dad and grandpa have told me stories about large mounds of snow that would be as high as the telephone and electric poles.
