The University of Detroit Mercy will induct seven new members into its Hall of Fame on Jan. 28-29, 2017. The Class of 2017 includes one team, the 2004 Women's Soccer Team, standout student-athletes in Teresa Emery (Softball), Tony Kaseta (Baseball), Shireese Statin (Track & Field), Jack Szczepaniuk (Track & Field) and Mark Sommerfeld (Golf), along with former women's basketball coach and women's athletic coordinator Susan Kruszewski. As we count down to Hall of Fame weekend, DetroitTitans.com will feature each of the seven inductees.
 
DETROIT (1/25/2017) -- The University of Detroit Mercy has some of the most devoted fans in all of sports and one of those that bleeds the red, white and blue is former track and field standout Jack Szczepaniuk.
 
"This is definitely an honor and it was something that I was never expecting," said Szczepaniuk. "I realize that there are many great athletes in the history of Titan Athletics and there are even individuals on our championship teams that I feel are equally deserving of this honor, so I am extremely humbled. I am deeply appreciative of my family, coaches at Detroit Mercy and Grand Rapids West Catholic, and all of my former teammates that supported me and pushed me to be successful." 
 
Coming to the University from Grand Rapids, Szczepaniuk has been a part of the Titans since 1999 when he ran his first track race with the Titan emblem on. Since then, he has served the University as not only one of the most accomplished student-athletes, but also as a coach and most recently as the Titan Athletic Club Board President.
 
"Jack found a home here," said track and field head coach Guy Murray. "He was here for school and for athletics and it is great to have him involved with the program and the athletic department and being a great guy with alumni."
 
Szczepaniuk's career saw him earn varsity letters in cross country and track and field for the red, white and blue as he used the fall season to help get ready for the track and field campaign, a career that led him to the hall of fame.
 
One of the most versatile runners in Titan track and field history, Szczepaniuk left no stone unturned as he captured a number of Horizon League Championships, records, but more importantly, helped the team win two conference titles.
 
"Jack is a very talented athlete and fits in with a great group of guys that have gone from sprints and moved up the ladder and have run cross country for us," said coach Murray. "He was an extremely hard worker and was willing to do whatever it took to help the team."
 
He was a 14-time Horizon League champion winning conference titles in six different events, claiming individual championships in the 200-meters, 400-meters and the 800-meters, while also helping the 4x100, Distance Medley, and 4x400-meter relay teams to first-place finishes.
 
"We are never going to be the deepest roster in terms of having 50 people on the team and two fresh people in every event so we need guys that can double up and score in multiple events. Jack was the last piece of the championship puzzle because he was a 200-400-meter guy on the indoor team and anchored our relays. Then he took the 800-meters in a league record and our league has had many NCAA championship level guys among the list of champions," added Murray. 
 
During his time at Detroit Mercy, he was a part of five school records, helping the Titans win a share of the indoor conference championship in 2000 and the outright league title in outdoors in 2003.
 
Szczepaniuk was the MCC Outstanding Runner Performer at the 2000 indoor conference championships. He started the 2000 campaign winning the indoor 200-meters in 22.49 seconds, and then won the 400-meters in 49.76 seconds. To finish things off, he anchored the 4x400-meter relay and helped the relay team defeat Milwaukee to capture gold, which helped the Titans share the conference crown with the Panthers.

"In 2000, we needed to win the mile relay to take the meet and Jack was the anchor. We knew we just needed to get him the baton in range and he would do the rest," said coach Murray.
 
"Winning the team championships were special to me," said Szczepaniuk. "Everyone thinks that track and field is an individual sport, but to win a championship, you need everyone to contribute, everyone to practice hard and push each other. My favorite event is the 4x400-meter relay because it really gets the whole team involved. It is the last event of the meet and everyone has already competed, so your teammates are all lined up around the track, cheering you on all the way to the finish."
 
At the MCC Outdoor Championships that year, the blazing Titan again won the 200 and 400 meters as well as the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays. This led to him being named the Outstanding Running Newcomer of the Year for the meet.
 
In 2003, he won the 800-meters and scored in four other events, helping the Titans win their first-ever outdoor championship. He also advanced to his first-ever outdoor NCAA Regional.
 
The following season, he was back at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Regional in the 800m, taking 10th with a time of 1:49.77, a school record that still stands today.
 
"I can honestly say that I was nervous for every single race in my college career, with butterflies in my stomach as I waited for the gun," said Szczepaniuk. "But that last race at the NCAA Regional at LSU, I can say that I was not. For me to even be in the top 10 was an honor. There were so many good runners at that meet and so many people watching. I was just really hyped for the experience of being there. My heat was probably the fastest out of all of them, so it was exciting to be there and compete against that level of competition."
 
In terms of history when he left Detroit Mercy, Szczepaniuk's name was listed 11 times among several top-10 marks in school history.
 
All of that from a runner who was the definition of a student-athlete.
 
"I remember he had a great year as a junior in high school and was visiting a lot of bigger schools, but I knew he was also looking at academics which was a top priority for him," added coach Murray. "Our engineering program can hold its own to anyone. The rest was history."
 
"I am a lifelong Titan," Szczepaniuk said. "I will always be grateful for the opportunities that were given to me.  I was able to continue my Catholic education and obtain an engineering degree and an MBA. With the supportive coaches, staff and professors, as well as the lifelong friends that I made, it was truly a great experience."