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When Janae (Dunchack) McGuirk joined the women’s track and field program at Dartmouth College, she had a basic question for her coaches.
What’s the pentathlon? The heptathlon?
A four-time PIAA Class 2A champion in the high jump at Northern Cambria High School and a multi-sport standout on the state level with the Colts, McGuirk hadn’t encountered either event throughout her scholastic career.
“I thought I was going to Dartmouth for high jump, long jump or maybe some sprinting,” McGuirk said. “When I got there, they’re like, ‘Hey, we’re going to try to make you into a ‘multi’ (event competitor) and have you do the pentathlon or heptathlon.’
“I said, ‘What is that?’ ”
Janae (Dunchack) McGuirk
Janae (Dunchack) McGuirk
McGuirk learned quickly, and her success at the NCAA Division I level helped her earn a spot in the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame. She will be inducted in the Class of 2026 July 11 at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center.
McGuirk won the Ivy League Heptagonal Championship pentathlon event four times from 2011 through 2014.
At the time, she was only the second athlete in Ivy League history to four-peat in the pentathlon, which includes five events – 60-meter hurdles, 800 run, long jump, high jump and shot put – combined for an overall score.
“The Ivy League championships are the Heptagonal Championships,” said McGuirk, currently a resident in psychiatry at Akron General Hospital in Ohio.
“It’s like the big Super Bowl for the Ivy League.”
She also won the Ivy League crown three times in the seven-event, two-day heptathlon (100, 200, high jump, long jump, shot put, javelin and 800). McGuirk didn’t compete in the heptathlon as a freshman at Dartmouth or she might have won four.
“It was very insightful on our coaches’ part to recognize where my skills were,” she said. “I’m good at a lot of stuff. I’m not great at one thing. I can do many things well, but there’s not necessarily one thing that I’m exceptional at. They trained me as a ‘multi’ and I loved it.”
Janae Dunchack Dartmouth College relay run
Northern Cambria High School graduate Janae Dunchack takes the baton and runs a relay race on the Dartmouth College track and field team in this undated photograph.
‘Multi’ also applied to the stellar resume McGuirk compiled at Northern Cambria High School. She was a four-year letterwinner in basketball, volleyball and track and field.
On the basketball court, she was a key part of a deep and talented Colts team that finished as girls state runner-up in 2008 (Class 2A) and 2010 (Class 1A). McGuirk scored more than 1,000 career points.
In volleyball, she was a member of the 2009 PIAA Class 2A girls state championship squad.
But McGuirk really made an impression competing in track and field.
Her four gold medals in the high jump made McGuirk only the second female athlete to win four consecutive gold medals at the PIAA track and field championships in Shippensburg.
NC Dunchack High Jump
Northern Cambria's Janae Dunchack won the PIAA class AA high jump event with a jump of 5'5" on Friday in Shippensburg.
“Basketball was always my favorite and will probably always be my favorite,” McGuirk said, “but I was better at track and field, so when I was looking at colleges, I was thinking I could still do basketball and get into a Division II or Division III school.
“But I really wanted to use my athletic abilities to my biggest advantage. I felt I could use track and probably do better in track and it would open up opportunities for me.”
McGuirk had a strong connection to Princeton University early in the recruiting process.
“I got letters from all the Ivy League schools,” she said. “I got a letter from Harvard. I got a letter from Princeton. I thought about Princeton and visited a couple times. I could probably do well there, but I felt like I’m not needed.
“I felt there were other people there that would out-compete me, out-talent me, out-work me. I don’t want to be here as an extra person. I want to accomplish something with my sports.”
Janae Dunchack
Later, at her mother’s insistence, she considered Dartmouth College.
“I was all set to go to Princeton, but one day I got home from school and my mom told me, ‘Hey, you’re going to visit Dartmouth. The coach has been asking about you, calling you.’
“I was like, ‘I don’t know where Dartmouth is. I don’t want to go.’ I went up there and immediately loved it.”
The Big Green program certainly appreciated McGuirk.
As a junior, she accumulated a 3,940 points to win her third straight Ivy League title in the pentathlon. McGuirk was 160 points better than the second-place finisher, and her point total set a Dartmouth record.
Dunchack Action 28.jpg
Northern Cambria's Janae Dunchack drives to the hoop for two of her 12 points.
She credited the foundation established at Northern Cambria, where the girls sports programs were among the best in the region and state.
“Coach (Jim) Rocco was outstanding,” she said of the Colts track coach. “He was amazing. He was my high school chemistry teacher as well. In general, he was a smart and insightful person. He knew a lot about body mechanics, running and training in various events.”
The time spent with her teammates, especially at Shippensburg during the state track championships, still resonates with McGuirk, who had numerous stories about the bonds made prior to her 2011 high school graduation.
“This hall of fame induction is a huge honor,” she said. “It’s one of those things, where I did the high school sports and the college sports, and sometimes I forget all of the things I’ve done and accomplished. It’s a nice little reminder of where I came from and the people that have helped me to get to where I am.
“I did the work and the practices, but I always think it’s nice when stuff like this happens because it reflects well on my coaches and teammates and other people that have helped me get to this point.”
For more information about the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet, visit www.ccshof.org.
Continue reading...
What’s the pentathlon? The heptathlon?
A four-time PIAA Class 2A champion in the high jump at Northern Cambria High School and a multi-sport standout on the state level with the Colts, McGuirk hadn’t encountered either event throughout her scholastic career.
“I thought I was going to Dartmouth for high jump, long jump or maybe some sprinting,” McGuirk said. “When I got there, they’re like, ‘Hey, we’re going to try to make you into a ‘multi’ (event competitor) and have you do the pentathlon or heptathlon.’
“I said, ‘What is that?’ ”
Janae (Dunchack) McGuirk
Janae (Dunchack) McGuirk
McGuirk learned quickly, and her success at the NCAA Division I level helped her earn a spot in the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame. She will be inducted in the Class of 2026 July 11 at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center.
McGuirk won the Ivy League Heptagonal Championship pentathlon event four times from 2011 through 2014.
At the time, she was only the second athlete in Ivy League history to four-peat in the pentathlon, which includes five events – 60-meter hurdles, 800 run, long jump, high jump and shot put – combined for an overall score.
“The Ivy League championships are the Heptagonal Championships,” said McGuirk, currently a resident in psychiatry at Akron General Hospital in Ohio.
“It’s like the big Super Bowl for the Ivy League.”
She also won the Ivy League crown three times in the seven-event, two-day heptathlon (100, 200, high jump, long jump, shot put, javelin and 800). McGuirk didn’t compete in the heptathlon as a freshman at Dartmouth or she might have won four.
“It was very insightful on our coaches’ part to recognize where my skills were,” she said. “I’m good at a lot of stuff. I’m not great at one thing. I can do many things well, but there’s not necessarily one thing that I’m exceptional at. They trained me as a ‘multi’ and I loved it.”
Janae Dunchack Dartmouth College relay run
Northern Cambria High School graduate Janae Dunchack takes the baton and runs a relay race on the Dartmouth College track and field team in this undated photograph.
‘Multi’ also applied to the stellar resume McGuirk compiled at Northern Cambria High School. She was a four-year letterwinner in basketball, volleyball and track and field.
On the basketball court, she was a key part of a deep and talented Colts team that finished as girls state runner-up in 2008 (Class 2A) and 2010 (Class 1A). McGuirk scored more than 1,000 career points.
In volleyball, she was a member of the 2009 PIAA Class 2A girls state championship squad.
But McGuirk really made an impression competing in track and field.
Her four gold medals in the high jump made McGuirk only the second female athlete to win four consecutive gold medals at the PIAA track and field championships in Shippensburg.
NC Dunchack High Jump
Northern Cambria's Janae Dunchack won the PIAA class AA high jump event with a jump of 5'5" on Friday in Shippensburg.
“Basketball was always my favorite and will probably always be my favorite,” McGuirk said, “but I was better at track and field, so when I was looking at colleges, I was thinking I could still do basketball and get into a Division II or Division III school.
“But I really wanted to use my athletic abilities to my biggest advantage. I felt I could use track and probably do better in track and it would open up opportunities for me.”
McGuirk had a strong connection to Princeton University early in the recruiting process.
“I got letters from all the Ivy League schools,” she said. “I got a letter from Harvard. I got a letter from Princeton. I thought about Princeton and visited a couple times. I could probably do well there, but I felt like I’m not needed.
“I felt there were other people there that would out-compete me, out-talent me, out-work me. I don’t want to be here as an extra person. I want to accomplish something with my sports.”
Janae Dunchack
Later, at her mother’s insistence, she considered Dartmouth College.
“I was all set to go to Princeton, but one day I got home from school and my mom told me, ‘Hey, you’re going to visit Dartmouth. The coach has been asking about you, calling you.’
“I was like, ‘I don’t know where Dartmouth is. I don’t want to go.’ I went up there and immediately loved it.”
The Big Green program certainly appreciated McGuirk.
As a junior, she accumulated a 3,940 points to win her third straight Ivy League title in the pentathlon. McGuirk was 160 points better than the second-place finisher, and her point total set a Dartmouth record.
Dunchack Action 28.jpg
Northern Cambria's Janae Dunchack drives to the hoop for two of her 12 points.
She credited the foundation established at Northern Cambria, where the girls sports programs were among the best in the region and state.
“Coach (Jim) Rocco was outstanding,” she said of the Colts track coach. “He was amazing. He was my high school chemistry teacher as well. In general, he was a smart and insightful person. He knew a lot about body mechanics, running and training in various events.”
The time spent with her teammates, especially at Shippensburg during the state track championships, still resonates with McGuirk, who had numerous stories about the bonds made prior to her 2011 high school graduation.
“This hall of fame induction is a huge honor,” she said. “It’s one of those things, where I did the high school sports and the college sports, and sometimes I forget all of the things I’ve done and accomplished. It’s a nice little reminder of where I came from and the people that have helped me to get to where I am.
“I did the work and the practices, but I always think it’s nice when stuff like this happens because it reflects well on my coaches and teammates and other people that have helped me get to this point.”
For more information about the Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet, visit www.ccshof.org.
Continue reading...
