Bartlett’s Gulczynski a 3-sport phenom

Life is going to be very different for Jacki Gulczynski this fall when she enters her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin.

Sure, life is different for any college freshman, athlete or not.

But in Gulczynski’s case, it will be the first time since she was a freshman at Bartlett High School that she won’t be playing three sports.

When the 6-foot-1 Gulczynski hits the Madison campus her athletic life will be all about basketball and nothing else.

And that will be quite an adjustment for a young lady who played volleyball, basketball and softball for 12 seasons as a Hawk, 11 of them on the varsity level.

It’s not just that Gulczynski played three sports, although three-sport athletes are a dying breed. It’s that she played all three so well, earning anywhere from all-conference to all-state honors depending on the sport.

“That’s what makes Jacki so unique,” says Bartlett girls basketball coach Denise Sarna. “She stuck with three sports and she competed at a high level in all three. Everybody knew she put a lot of time into basketball but she became the picture perfect role model for parents and kids who don’t think you can do.”

Selecting Gulczynski as the 2010-11 Daily Herald Fox Valley Female Athlete of the Year was an easy choice.

“She backs up the philosophy that when you’re a great athlete you can be great at a lot of things,” Sarna said. “She has a great attitude and she put a lot of hard work into everything she did. It’s hard to be that kind of person.”

She is the second Bartlett female to earn the award. Kim Ebbesen was the 2005-06 AOY.

Basketball became Gulczynski’s niche and she will play that sport on scholarship at Wisconsin, leaving volleyball and softball for her high school scrapbook. But playing all three again her senior year was how Gulczynski wanted to go out at Bartlett.

“It did cross my mind,” she said when asked if she considered not playing three sports this year. “But three-sport athletes are so unique that that’s how I wanted to finish high school. I wanted to go out with a bang and I did that in all three.”

After recording 60 solo blocks, 208 kills, 67 aces and 97 digs Gulczynski was selected to the Daily Herald All-Area team in volleyball.

“She was a heck of a volleyball player and she’s a heck of an athlete,” said Bartlett girls volleyball coach Brandon Mueller. “She was definitely a leader for us and it’s so impressive because she plays three sports. She doesn’t play club volleyball or club softball but she’s so good at all three. She’s an incredible person, a great team player and one of those positive hardworking people you love to coach.”

After volleyball, Gulczynski hit the basketball court for the final time as a Hawk. And even though the season ended earlier than the Hawks wanted with a sectional semifinal loss to Trinity, they were 28-2, won the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division title and were state-ranked all season.

The catalyst behind that was Gulczynski, who extended her game and played more relaxed with her college commitment out of the way. On a team that had extremely balanced scoring, she averaged 14.2 points per game and 7.3 rebounds. She blocked 32 shots and shot 80 percent from the free-throw line.

In her 118-game Bartlett career she scored 1,696 points (second to Lindsay Schrader in school history) and had 954 rebounds, 171 blocked shots, 184 assists and 201 steals. She never missed a basketball game in her four-year varsity career. This past season she was first-team AP all-state, second team IBCA all-state, the UEC Valley Player of the Year an all-academic UEC selection, a member of the ESPN All-Area team, and the Honorary Co-Captain of the Daily Herald’s Fox Valley All-Area team for the second straight year.

“It was disappointing going out in the sectional game,” said Gulczynski, who graduated with a 4.388 GPA on a 4.0 scale, ranked 25th in her class of 604. “But we accomplished so much in four years. We went from being a mediocre team to being a great team.”

Sarna believes Gulczynski’s participation in three sports helped her basketball leadership skills as well.

“Jacki came in as a confident athlete as a freshman,” Sarna said. “But the difference between a confident freshman and a confident senior is huge. By playing three sports she was able to draw from so many different experiences. She brings that winning competitive edge and the great thing about it is that Jacki gets the competitiveness of high school sports and now she’s ready to bring it to a new level as a college basketball player.”

Her softball season was productive as well. Being a leader on yet another young Hawks team, she was the starting first baseman all season and she hit .327 with 2 home runs and 24 RBI. She was named all-conference and honorable mention all-area.

“Jacki is the rarest of athletes,” said Bartlett softball coach Jim Wolfsmith. “I personally feel that whatever sport she chose she would have been a DI scholarship athlete. The fact that she turned herself into a DI basketball player while also playing volleyball and softball at a very high level is amazing. Add in the fact she was academic all-conference and you have one of the best all-around student-athletes Bartlett High School has ever produced. I’m going to miss her fun personality but I’m excited to watch her develop even more at Wisconsin.”

Having made her commitment to Wisconsin prior to her senior year helped Gulczynski relax some this year, she said.

“Knowing where I was going helped a lot,” she said. “I could facilitate my teammates and I didn’t have to push for perfection. Every sport is different and unique. I met so many people through these sports that it helped me grow as a person.”

Ah, Jacki Gulczynski the person.

“There are very few athletes that come along like Jacki Gulczynski,” said Bartlett athletic director Jeff Bral in nominating Gulczynski for the award. “Jacki is arguably the most decorated athlete at Bartlett since Lindsay Schrader. Jacki is respected by all who know her and even those who don’t, both athletically and as a person. I have been fortunate to watch Jacki grow not only as a great athlete, but the person many parents dream their child would become. She fought through the heartbreak of losing her brother (Lenny) to the war in Iraq, and still found the strength in her heart to make the world a better place.”

Sarna says Gulczynski’s humility is one of her best traits.

“She has an incredibly supportive family that helps keep her grounded,” Sarna said. “She doesn’t gloat about her awards and honors. She’s a very humble person. She relates to a lot of people on a positive level — her coaches, her teammates, the media and her friends. She’s just an all-around nice young woman. She definitely has left her mark on Bartlett High School.”

Now Gulczynski embarks on her quest to leave a mark on the Wisconsin women’s basketball program.

“It’s real. It’s here now,” she said. “It was just a dream before but it’s here now.”

And there’s little question that if Jacki Gulczynski has half the career at Wisconsin she did at Bartlett, we’ll be hearing her name a lot more the next four years.