Getting used to a new school is a difficult task for anyone, especially when it's college. But getting used to two different schools is something that most people do not have to do.
Ohio thrower Jaclyn Lugaila knows what it's like to get familiar with two different colleges -two extremely different ones at that.
Lugaila came to Ohio from Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. With an enrollment of only 7,021 students, compared to Ohio's 28,598, the size alone is a big enough difference. Location is also a major difference; Coastal Carolina is about six miles from Myrtle Beach.
While at Coastal, Lugaila earned the indoor title for shot put and weight throw at the Big South Conference Championships in 2003.
Lugaila had Coastal Carolina brought to her attention by girls that she had competed against in high school. When those girls visited the university, they brought Lugaila with them, and she ended up liking it.
They were the only reason I even looked at the place
Lugaila said. I wouldn't have known it was there. It was nice weather and a nice location that's pretty much why I chose to go there. I went more for track than academics.
After Lugaila's freshman year, though, her track coach left the school. She also realized that she wanted to go into exercise physiology, a major that Coastal didn't offer. She knew would have to transfer.
I'd like to go to graduate school for physical therapy Lugaila said. They didn't have that down there. There was a lot of marine science
business
golf and recreation.
One of Lugaila's best friends from Coastal Carolina, Karen Olesky, said that Lugaila's transfer left its mark on the team.
She was my best friend down here
said Olesky, currently a senior at Coastal Carolina. It affected me when she left
and it affected most of the girls. Not having her there on the track during meets to cheer us on or to hang out with over the weekends made a difference. Everyone gets so excited when she comes back to visit. Each individual misses her a lot. We all still wish she was here.
What made Lugaila's decision a difficult one was knowing that, under NCAA transfer rules, she would be ineligible for the following season.
I thought I could get into the school and be better academically first
Lugaila said. I could get used to my team and my coaches and
hopefully
after that first year I'd be ready to go
and I think I am.
Even though the year off from competition benefited her academically, Lugaila said it was not fun.
It was torture
