Jackie Kropp is in her fourth season as assistant cross country/track and field coach at Loyola University Chicago. A native of Stevens Point, Wis., Kropp, who graduated from the University of Chicago in 2007, has achieved tremendous success both as a student-athlete and as a coach. Kropp works with men's and women's distance athletes in cross country and track & field, while also overseeing the women's distance program. In her short time in Rogers Park, she has helped student-athletes set over 50 new top-ten distance marks and shatter 13 school records in the process. Kropp also played a major role in helping Loyola capture the Horizon League women's triple crown (team titles in cross country, indoor/outdoor track & field) in 2012-13.
"Jackie is a fantastic hire for Loyola," Hasenbank said. "With her experience at the University of Illinois and the University of Louisville, she has been exposed to Big 10 and Big East competition. Her familiarity with the Chicagoland area will enhance our staff in the areas of recruiting and training. She comes with great credentials, including USATF Level II Endurance certification. Jackie was also captain of her NCAA qualifying team at the University of Chicago. Jackie is eager to take on a more defined coaching role and we are excited to give her this opportunity."
In 2012-13, Kropp was part of a coaching staff that helped the program reach a never-before-seen level. Loyola captured five of six Horizon League championships throughout the cross country and track & field seasons while sending 12 athletes to the NCAA West Regional during the outdoor campaign. A display of Loyola's dominance could be seen at the Horizon League Cross Country Championships when the men took four of the top-five places, while the women swept the top-three en route to taking home both team titles. The improvement was also imminent at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet when the women's side placed 11th overall, a 14-place improvement from the previous year.
A shining example of Kropp's work and dedication could be seen with the emergence of Gina Valgoi during her senior season. Valgoi rewrote women's distance school records in indoor mile (4:43.60), 3,000m (9:30.05), 5,000m (15:54.37) and outdoor 1,500m (4:19.00), 5,000m (15:55.56), 10,000m (33:07.80). The Motor City native would also go on to be Loyola's first female qualifier for the NCAA Cross Country Championships and the program's first female All-American after she qualified for the 5,000m National Final at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Valgoi was also one of the two female Ramblers (Sydney Stuenkel) to qualify for national competition following the season, seeing action at the USA National Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The 2011-12 season provided a look into the future in Rogers Park. Three distance athletes would qualify for the NCAA West Regional following a dominant performance at the league outdoor meet that saw Josh Stein and Gina Valgoi sweep the 10,000m titles and freshman Sam Penzentadler win the 800m and 1,500m titles. The men's side would record a runner-up finish at the indoor league meet while four women would qualify for the 800m finals. Kropp also helped three men and two women achieve All-Conference accolades during the cross country season.
During the 2009-10 track season, Kropp helped mold distance runner Angela Bizzarri to her third national title with a victory in the 3,000m at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. In the fall of 2009, Kropp worked with the Fighting Illini women's cross country team and aided in the program's 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, along with runner-up showings at the NCAA Midwest Regional and Big Ten Championships. In addition to the team's success, Kropp assisted in Bizzarri becoming the first women's cross country national champion in University of Illinois history.
Kropp helped develop a pair of All-America selections during the 2008 cross country season as the Illini claimed second place at the NCAA Midwest Regional and claimed a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships.
Prior to her stint at Illinois, Kropp was a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Louisville during the 2007-08 campaign and her contributions paid dividends as the Cardinals won Big East Conference titles in men's cross country and women's outdoor track and field.
As a student-athlete at Chicago, Kropp was an All-American as a member of the Maroons' distance medley relay team and helped the cross country squad to a 19th-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships. A member of both the cross country and track and field squads at Chicago, Kropp earned both all-conference and all-academic honors in her four-year career. Kropp received her Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences while at the University of Chicago and her Master's in Sport Management at Illinois. She is certified as a USA Track and Field Level 2 coach and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS).
