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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Second-year Illinois heptathlete JaiCieonna Gero-Holt has already made her first full season of college track one to remember.
After scoring a 5,994 point total in the heptathlon at the Big Ten Championships to break a program record, she became Illinois’ first conference champ in the event since 1994.
This strong start to her collegiate career comes after she missed the entire 2025 season after tearing her LCL and partially tearing her hamstring.
Even though that derailed what she thought could be an impactful first year with the Illini, she said it ended up being a blessing.
“I honestly don’t really think that I would have as much success as I have now if I wouldn’t have had the setback that I had, because if you think about a setback, it’s like a rubber band,” Gero-Holt said. “You get set back, but guess what? You launch even farther.”
“She’s a lot more mature than her age says,” Illinois track and field director Petros Kyprianou said. “She is very hungry; she wants to be the best.” “She’s got a chip on her shoulder, it’s fun to see her develop so quickly, and already scoring I think about almost 500 points and personal bests in her first year of doing the heptathlon in college.”
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