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Jack Ellwein Shares About Passion in Music and Commitment to Grinnell College
Jack Ellwein is a young man with many interests. Running, art, music, politics, and science are a few at the top of his list. The place where he’s heading next, Grinnell College, is the perfect place for him to discover his truest passions and also continue dropping considerable time as a distance runner.
The Mt. Lebanon High School senior has shown tremendous growth in his running career in just four years. For perspective, Ellwein went from an injury ridden freshman year to being a top three runner on the team and running a 17:18 5K time. From sophomore year to now, he’s dropped over five minutes off his 5K time and it’s helped him to receive various offers to continue running in college. But for him, his college search involved looking for a small, liberal arts college with an open curriculum to help him find a solid major going into his final two years of college.
This made Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa a solid fit. The school features Division III athletics, less than 2,000 students, and one of the top liberal arts educations in the world. The acceptance rate is only 11 percent. “I grew up in Iowa, so I was already familiar with living there,” he explained. “The open curriculum allows me to study a variety of interests and the coaches who recruited me continued to support and reach out to me throughout my cross country season. I was honestly honored to be recruited by them.”
Running was not always an activity that Ellwein enjoyed. Growing up, he participated more as a thrower and sprinter than as a distance runner. He eventually stopped participating until his freshman year of high school. In large part, he was influenced by his father Todd to give it a shot and even stick with it when it was not going very well during his freshman season. But over time and to respect his fathers wishes, he stuck with it and has become a highly coveted recruit for a Grinnell Pioneers program that’s one of the best not just in the Midwest Conference, but in all of NCAA Division III. ”My dad has had the biggest impacts on me,” explained Ellwein. “He’s taught me so many valuable life lessons and has remained my biggest fan athletically. I truly cannot thank him enough for his support and all he’s done for me.”
Music also continues to be a significant part of his life and he has enjoyed working towards completing his own album one day in the future. He uses his guitar skills as well as music making platforms to blend music and produce works in various different genres.
As senior year gets closer to coming to a close, he’s hopeful he can make his senior year of track and field one to remember. His time with the Mount Lebanon Blue Devils have been some of the best of his life and helped him to make countless bonds with coaches, teammates, and opponents that will last a lifetime. “I’m so grateful to be a part of these teams and I’ve learned so much from being a student-athlete. From time management, responsibility, and respect, I credit these attributes to having been a student-athlete.”
Best wishes as you get ready for your senior year of track and field, Jack!
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