“Stay home and build” is the motto a lot of colleges pitch to local athletes.
Elka Billings, Rachel Bycroft, and Ursula Billings did just that when the trio opted to sign with Allen Community College.
All three attended Iola High School before the Billings sisters finished high school at Crest.
“It was cool to get local kids,’’ said Allen cross country head coach Vince DeGrado. “Getting local kids to stay is difficult sometimes because they want to get out of town it’s cool to see local kids have the success they are having.”
“Elka signed first and then Rachel,” Ursula Billings said. “I knew that I always wanted to follow in Elka’s footsteps. It was by chance that we all ended up here.”
Elka and Rachel were named National Junior College Athletic Association All-Americans after their freshman season last November.
“It’s cool. I never would have thought we would do this,” said Elka Billings. “I just wanted to stay home and be with my family but it’s cool to have built this program up, I guess.”
With the success the trio is having, one could say they are blazing a trail for the next wave of area runners to follow at Allen.
“Coming into Allen I didn’t know any girls in the past who came here,” Rachel Bycroft said. “I just knew Vince’s past success and I wanted to help him rebuild the girls’ program.”
“When we started in high school we weren’t the greatest runners,” Ursula said. “It’s amazing that we all chose to come to Allen and stay local. Leaving a legacy is a great honor, to be able to show other people that you can stay local.”
ACC recently competed against NCAA Division I teams like Arkansas State, with Elka taking third place overall. Ursula came in 21st. Rachel did not compete due to an injury. Allen was the only junior college invited to the event.
