Singing a song of victory

Lackaff splits time between choir, track and field

Jeff Lackaff had never thrown the javelin before last spring, when he approached longtime Augustana College track and field coach Paul Olsen about picking up the sport.

"He was a baseball player, and he said he had a decent arm," Olsen recalled. "That doesn't always translate, because javelin is a different motion, but he said he'd like to do it. ... It was pretty clear after about two days that this guy had a pretty special arm. He also had a pretty special commitment."

Lackaff, a junior from Downers Grove, Illinois, has had to be committed. He is a member of the Augustana Choir, which commands much of his time during the week and does not allow him to practice with the rest of the Vikings track and field team. From the beginning, he and Olsen arranged times during the day, around Lackaff's class and choir schedule, to prepare for weekend competition.

The results have been positive.

Last year, Lackaff set a personal best throw of 179 feet, 5 inches and placed sixth at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin outdoor championships. This spring, he already has upped his PR to 186-6, a throw that won him the Wartburg Invitational.

"I really wasn't expecting to win or anything. I just wanted to be able to compete," Lackaff said. "Going into it not expecting to win helps. It allows me to relax more and not worry about the other throwers and what they're doing."

Lackaff's situation is not entirely unique at Augustana. Olsen has accommodated others over the years.

"I tell every high school recruit I talk to that my goal is for them to have the best four years of their lives," Olsen said. "For some kids that means singing in the choir. For others, it means being pre-med and missing practice twice a week because of labs. OK, I don't care. We don't have to own kids. We don't have to monopolize their time. We celebrate every day that you can do lots of different things."

Lackaff is a history major. An Asian studies minor. A member of the choir. A member of the track team.

He'd like to wear other labels.

Conference champion. All-American.

Olsen says Lackaff has that kind of potential, that he will "be in the hunt" for a CCIW championship this spring - his performance at Wartburg would have been good for a second-place finish at the conference meet last year - and could conceivably qualify for the NCAA Division III national championships.

That's when he'll have to make a decision. The national meet is the only event on the track and field schedule that conflicts with choir. Lackaff says he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it - if he comes to it.

"If I can throw it another 7 to 10 feet, I have a very good chance of going to nationals and placing," he said. "It's do-able now. I think this year I could do it. So, I'm just crossing my fingers."