Corey Cebulski to join track and field program at Millikin University
By FRED KRONER
Corey Cebulski is coming out of retirement.
At age 21.
The 2019 Mahomet-Seymour graduate – a multi-sport standout with the Bulldogs – is returning to competitive athletics as he prepares for his transfer from Parkland College to Millikin University, in Decatur.
An incoming junior, Cebulski has been recruited to join the track and field team, where he will be reunited with his former pole vault event coach at M-S, Carroll Whitehouse.
After a decade helping M-S vaulters, Whitehouse joined the coaching staff at Millikin in July.
Cebulski was his first recruit.
“Millikin didn’t have pole vaulters the last few years,” Whitehouse said. “As I started talking to them (at Millikin), I was thinking, ‘Where can I get vaulters?’”
He didn’t need to scratch his head for long.
Cebulski is someone Whitehouse has known for years.
“Corey is an amazing kid,” Whitehouse said. “I have coached him since sixth-grade.
“He was easy to love. He has an amazing heart and such good character. I can’t ask for a better kid to start my college career with. He is a special soul. You don’t find humans that are that kind and caring.”
Whitehouse reached out to Cebulski in the nick of time.
“I ended up getting a call from Coach Whitehouse about two hours before I made my commitment to attend Olivet Nazarene University,” Cebulski said.
At the time, Whitehouse hadn’t yet been hired at Millikin, but the two got together at the M-S track.
“He hadn’t done anything in two years,” said Whitehouse, a Champaign fireman. “He got on the runway and looked good. He said it felt good.
“He was jumping over 12 feet with no problem.”
For Cebulski, it was like riding a bicycle.
“Everything just fell back into place and felt not only natural like muscle memory, but also rekindled the excitement that I had felt during high school,” Cebulski said.
As a senior at M-S, Cebulski was a state-qualifier and cleared a personal-best 13 feet, 6 inches.
Whitehouse believes he can not only regain that level, but also achieve even more.
“He has good speed and good strength,” Whitehouse said. “He still looks like an Adonis.
“With two years to go in his college career, I am confident we’ll get him over 14 feet. I’m lucky to be able to start my job with him in my group.”
Cebulski wasn’t actively pursuing a return to sports.
“I’ll be completely honest, when it came to looking forward to my future in 2020, I had no plans to reignite my athletic career,” Cebulski said.
One factor prompted him to change his mind.
“The only reason that I am returning to athletics again is because of Coach Whitehouse,” Cebulski said. “Over the many years, I have had many great coaches and a few not so great ones.
“Some of my other friends, like Shaelin Ruzich, have gone off to college with the intention of pursuing the sport of their choice, but unfortunately they had coaches that did not truly make accommodations when it came to injuries, academics, as well as mental health, because they wanted the best outward appearance for their school.
“I know that Coach Whitehouse has and always will listen to his athletes if they’re feeling pain beyond soreness, academics, as well as mental health.”
Cebulski started his track career as a runner before concentrating on the pole vault.
“What really drew me to start pole vaulting was a number of things,” he said. “The first was no matter what is going on, everyone always takes the time to stop and watch the pole vault.
“Secondly, I loved the idea of just competing against yourself and always trying to do better. When it came to competing against others in the midst of a meet, everyone is always so kind because we’re all pushing toward the same goal and simply want to continuously get better.”
Lastly, Cebulski said, was Whitehouse’s influence.
“What really got me into the sport was Coach Whitehouse because of how incredibly kind he was,” Cebulski said. “When I was younger, I was definitely a more sensitive kid, especially when it came to taking criticisms from authority figures and role models.
“I truly felt that Coach Whitehouse had made an incredibly safe environment where it felt OK to fail as long as you were willing to pick yourself back up, learn from your mistakes, and try it again.”
Cebulski considered both Olivet Nazarene, in Bourbonnais, and Millikin. At Olivet, he would not have participated in athletics.
“I truly came to my decision through prayer and comparing and contrasting what both colleges had to offer for my future when it came to pursuing my passions,” Cebulski said. “My main connection to Millikin was Coach Whitehouse, but another friend that I made about a year ago was Danny Lack and I knew that was his school of choice and he was pursuing finance and baseball.”
Soon after Cebulski committed to the Big Blue, he heard from Lack.
“Danny immediately reached out to me and asked me if I would like to be a roommate in an apartment,” Cebulski said. “I really think that Danny embodies what it means to be a part of the Big Blue and reach out to anyone in need to not only spread the love of the Big Blue for the community, but also the love of God.”
Even before he changed schools, Cebulski had switched majors.
“Once I realized that nursing wasn’t the path that God was calling me on, I truly started soul-searching for what his plan was for my life,” Cebulski said. “Eventually I would come to the conclusion of wanting to become a voice actor for animation and video games.”
At Millikin, Cebulski will major in broadcasting and communications.
His goal, he said, is “graduating and work for a radio station.
“My real dream is to hopefully work my way out of a radio station and become a working voice actor for animation and video games like Nolan North and Troy Baker.”
Committing to Millikin wasn’t the only highlight of the summer for Cebulski.
“A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to the FanExpo with a good friend of mine, Noah Powell,” Cebulski said. “The whole purpose of the event is to get to see panels, actors, art work, and other forms of entertainment when it comes to anime, comic books and video games.
“One of the main reasons I went was to meet one of my heroes, Troy Baker, who plays Joel in The Last Of Us and a bunch of other characters throughout video games, anime, and animated TV shows.”
Cebulski credits Baker for helping him to find his direction.
“It’s because of him and Nolan North that I am still in college and pursuing the career that I currently am,” Cebulski said. “When I eventually got the opportunity to speak with him, I couldn’t help but explain to him how incredibly thankful I was to have come across so much of his work and how it has and continues to inspire me.
“When I eventually ran out of things to say after rambling, I started to tear up and the only words I could get out were ‘I just wanna be like you.’ I could tell that at this moment Troy could tell how passionate and convicted I was to do everything that I could to follow in his footsteps.”
Cebulski didn’t receive the reaction he was expecting.
“He then put his hand on my shoulder and I said, ‘I can see how hard you’re working, can I give you some advice?’” Cebulski said. “I said, ‘Of course.’
“He then proceeded to say, ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but I need you to do everything you can to be better. Cause if you wanna do what we do, you can’t cut corners.’”
The words made an impact with Cebulski.
“With tears swelling in my eyes, I shook my head and said, ‘Yes, Sir,’” Cebulski said. “He then proceeded to sign my photo and after I began walking away, I heard his voice behind me say, ‘Hey! I hope to work with you someday.’
“I turned back to look over my shoulder and said with a smile, ‘Yeah, me too.’ I will never forget that moment or the words he spoke to me that day.
“This encounter has truly crafted my mindset heading into this next school year and a new track season with the mindset of always wanting to do better and never settling for less.”
At M-S, Cebulski earned four varsity letters in track, three in soccer (as a goalkeeper) and one in swimming.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Cebulski is determined to find success as both a student and an athlete at Millikin.
“After I signed up for orientation, I just said to myself, ‘God, I don’t know why you’re bringing me here, but I’ll do the best I can,’” he said.
At Millikin, which could have its first indoor meet in December, Cebulski will be one of five vaulters, only two of whom are men.
“As an upperclassman who knows my system,” Whitehouse said, “he can kind of be a leader.
“We’ll take it slow and easy, get him in the weight room, build up strength and work on speed.”
For Cebulski, it will be full speed ahead, both in his track career and his life goals.
