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		What Makes Ebony Run Splendid sprinter driven by ambition—and her team. By Paul Perillo When Ebony Jack joined her high school track team, she ran in the shadow of her older brother, Johan, a Boston University track star who became New England’s top sprinter before his athletic career ended in 1999. Johan’s renown was a big reason Ebony decided to carve out her own path, at Northeastern. Now, as her sprinting career draws to a close, she trails no one, nohow. “Northeastern and BU were the only two schools I applied to,” Jack recalls. “As I was being recruited, all I kept hearing was ‘Johan’s little sister.’ I didn’t want to hear that anymore. After seeing BU, then seeing the way they did things at Northeastern, it wasn’t even close. It’s like one big family here. It’s not just about track with the coaches. They’ve helped me with so many other things in life.” Despite Jack’s drive to have her own successes, she was proud of everything Johan had accomplished. In fact, he’d inspired her to run the oval in the first place. A basketball player for most of her life, including her first two years at Lexington (Mass.) High School, she’d started thinking about track after admiring Johan’s long, powerful strides. Jack ran outdoor track all four years of high school, and eventually gave up her hoop dreams to run indoor during her final two. Like her brother, she excelled as a sprinter through explosiveness and sheer speed. “I don’t really like the longer races,” she says with an embarrassed laugh. “I never ran the 400 in high school. I’ve always enjoyed the excitement of the sprints. Johan really inspired me in that way. People say I look like him when I run, and I always wondered if I had it in me.” If Jack is still wondering, she’s the only one. Last year, she won the 100 meters at the America East Outdoor meet, a victory she hopes to defend in her final conference competition this month. She also won the 55 meters at last year’s New England Indoor Championships and placed third in the 60 at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship. In January, she was named the Most Outstanding Performer at the Great Dane Classic in Albany, New York, after winning the 55 and the 200, and being part of the first-place 4x400 relay team. In February, she took first place in the 55 at the America East Indoor Championships—the third time she’s accomplished that feat—helping the Huskies win the team title. And Jack’s making sure her final outdoor season leaves the blocks with characteristic strength. The 2002–2003 co-captain finished fourth in the 400 and third in the long jump at the Husky Spring Open. At last month’s Duke Invitational, in Durham, North Carolina, her 4x100 relay team took third place, and she placed seventh in the 100. Her list of accomplishments goes on. But gifted as Jack is when she flies down a track, her coach, Sherman Hart, believes her leadership has been just as important to the team. “She’s been a great role model,” Hart says. “Her overall personality is so impressive. We have some pretty gifted young sprinters who can definitely run with her. Rather than getting overly sensitive about losing her spot, she’s always working with them and trying to make them better. That’s just the kind of woman she is—very team-oriented and committed to being the best she can be.” According to Hart, the two young runners—Ahndraea Allen and Jordine Kimbrel—look to their more celebrated teammate for advice. Allen, a sophomore, was named the Most Outstanding Performer at February’s America East meet, where freshman Kimbrel took second in the 55, 200, and 400 meters. “That’s exactly what I’m going to miss the most,” Jack says of her interaction with her teammates. “I love being around the team and getting them motivated.” Although Jack’s athletic eligibility is winding down, she’ll remain at Northeastern for another year, completing her degree in accounting. Last summer, she had a co-op at Arthur Andersen; this summer it’ll be Deloitte & Touche, where she’ll work in the financial advisory service department, investigating criminal and fraud cases. But before transitioning to life out in the real world, Jack has one more outdoor season to finish up, and she plans on making the most of it. And, though she’s become a star in her own right, she still goes to her older brother for advice. “We talk about running all the time,” she says. “He used to come to a lot of practices before he moved to Florida. I talk to him about starts, finishes, the middle—everything. Sometimes I really get nervous, and he knows just how to calm me down.” Whatever Johan says, it works. Ebony Jack has whisked her dreams and ambitions into gold. Northern Lights Elevate Diamond Hopes It’s not uncommon for a Northeastern athletic program to be bolstered by an influx of Canadian talent. But many blue-chip athletes who migrate south to Huntington Avenue wear spikes, not skates. Neil McPhee has looked to Canada often during his seventeen seasons as head baseball coach. The results have been beyond positive. Past standouts Derek Gauthier, Kevin Kim, and Luke Carlin came via the Canadian pipeline. So have current starters Devin Monds, Miguel Paquette, and Jordan Thomson. McPhee began his Canadian recruitment strategy in 1996, after pitching coach Matt Noone joined his staff. Noone—who left NU this off-season to become head coach at Babson—had played baseball at Princeton, where he’d had an assistant coach named Greg Hamilton, who later went on to head the Canadian National Junior program. When Gauthier was looking at Division I programs, Hamilton gave McPhee a call. Noone praised Hamilton, McPhee welcomed Gauthier—and the results were good all around. “Every player Greg has recommended has been solid,” McPhee says. “Canada has pockets of very talented players who play a very high level of baseball.” McPhee has a pair of Canadians in his current recruiting class: center fielder Chris Emanuele and infielder Arman Sidhu. Baseball America listed Emanuele as the third-best prospect in America East and the top newcomer. (It named pitcher Monds, a sophomore right-hander who’s the Huskies’ number-one starter, America East’s top prospect.) “Our Canadian players have been very strong fundamentally,” McPhee says. “The coaching they receive is excellent, and the weather up there leads to a lot of indoor work, where drills and mechanics are stressed. These kids know how to play baseball when they get here.” McPhee’s teams have proven that. Under his leadership, the Huskies have captured a pair of conference titles and NCAA berths, and the 427 career wins McPhee had earned by the end of last season are the highest total earned at Northeastern by a coach of any sport. Last season, NU lost to Maine at the America East championship, an outcome this year’s squad hopes to reverse. A challenging schedule stands in the way. The Huskies have already grabbed one win during a three-game series with Oral Roberts University (a top twenty-five team in 2002). They’ve also won their matchups with Big Ten opponents Indiana and Northwestern. By the middle of April, Northeastern had racked up a 6-12 record (1-3 against other America East teams). Four right-handers—Monds, Thomson, Justin Hedrick, and Brendan Ryan—make up the starting rotation. The Husky offense has enough depth to face righties and lefties with equal efficiency. Paquette is the linchpin of a potent lineup blending speed with power. “Last year, we had a terrific opportunity,” McPhee says. “We got to the championship, and it turned out Maine had a big day.” With a capable Canadian contingent, the Huskies are gunning for a happier ending this time around.