Some members of society are blessed with a certain gift: the ability to excel at something, seemingly without any effort. Such is the case for UB senior track star Jerimie Slick. The psychology major has made use of his gift to the fullest extent, as his prolific high school and on-going college careers indicate.
Slick finished off his high school career with both the indoor and outdoor record for his school in the two-mile, as well as the 1998 Class A NYS championship in that event. His next stop was Cortland State, where he earned All-American honors in 1998 and became the 1999 East Coast Athletic Conference indoor 5K champion.
In his small tenure at UB, Slick has already set a school record in the indoor 5,000 meters, and had a 10th place finish at the MAC outdoor championship in the 10,000-meter event.
So how young was this talented athlete when he discovered his potential?
"Ninth grade actually," Slick said. "I went into my guidance counselor's office to change my classes and she said that I should run cross-country because I look like a cross-country runner, and so I decided to try out for the team."
And make the team he did. His school found him useful, as Slick runs both cross-country, as well as track and field.
"In cross-country, I do the 8K and 10K. For track, I do 5K, 10K, I run some 3Ks indoors, and occasionally, I'll do the mile."
That sounds like a ton of running but in the end the extra effort was well worth it for Slick, who in addition to his individual accomplishments, was also part of the sectional championship 4x800 team his senior year.
Coming to run at UB might have required some adjustments, but the accomplished runner found that the coaching staff and his teammates were well matched to his abilities.
"I like the coaching program and my coach (Vicki Mitchell) right now . my teammates and I push each other and we all make each other better . that obviously benefits the team in the long run," he said.
Pain or no pain, achieving his goals is Slick's number one priority.
"I always want to improve, I always want to get better. I set goals for myself and I want to achieve them," said Slick. "I know someday my running career is going to be over and I want to look back and say I achieved this, this and this, at least for my personal satisfaction."
