"It's So Worth It": The Story of Blue Streaks Finding Track & Field as a Second Sport

5/14/2026 2:14:00 PM | By: Joe Ginley '16, SID

JCU Track & Field has developed student-athletes from other sports into stars on and off the track

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – At many levels of athletics, specialization has become the norm. Not so in NCAA Division III and John Carroll University.

The John Carroll Track & Field team especially embodies the ideal that a high-achieving student-athlete can play multiple sports or find a home in a different sport than they anticipated.

The Blue Streaks are showcasing the potential of developing multi-sport athletes and in allowing students the freedom to find a second sport. JCU Track & Field just swept the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships and the Men's Track & Field squad finished in 10th place at the NCAA Indoor Championships with several such multi-sport student-athletes.

A culture of trust and collaboration between coaches at John Carroll has made it possible for student-athletes to find the right paths, avenues which may not exist at other levels or other schools.

"Elite athletes at our level are often good at everything, not just across multiple sports but also in the classroom," said Daniel Tutskey, Director of Cross Country and Track and Field. "Dual-sport athletes are self-motivated, which you need to be, as there is a lot to balance when you're competing in college athletics. Being a good student and a strong athlete goes hand in hand. Also, an elite athlete competing in two sports makes both teams better, because speed is so important."

This story follows the journeys of several JCU student-athletes with widely varying journeys. Basheer Alramahi illustrates how a soccer player can become a strong sprinter. Tyler Gast proves the path from baseball to sprints isn't so unthinkable. Sara Gennuso showcases how you can overcome injuries to compete in both soccer and track. Julius Kimbrough is an example of how hoops translates to hops. Tony Tirado embodies how a bulldozing linebacker mentality works as a sprinter.

Carroll Beginnings

The journey to track & field varies widely for all student-athletes, but for especially the Blue Streaks who discovered the sport late.

For Tyler Gast, his interest was piqued during his senior year of high school. But his high school baseball coach nixed the idea. After all, Gast needed to play baseball year-round in order to get a roster spot in college. So, the Olmsted Township native put aside the idea and re-focused on baseball, which led him to John Carroll.

Tony Tirado was a sprinter in high school, also participated in cross country in his freshman year of high school before COVID-19 hit. Tirado turned most of his attention to the weight room to bulk up for football.

Julius Kimbrough participated a tad as a freshman in high school before discovering as a senior that he was very talented as a jumper. The Canton native even made States as a senior, getting the attention of Coach Tutskey. But basketball remained his primary pursuit until at the end of his freshman season.

Basheer Alramahi experienced some similar success in track & field at Westlake High School. But soccer remained his primary ambition as he began his time at John Carroll.

"I grew up loving soccer," said Alramahi. "Track was not on my radar coming into Carroll."

Sara Gennuso experienced a different path. The Erie, Pennsylvania native stood out as a trackster in high school, including success in the triple jump. But track & field was just one part of her high school career, as she also played soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter.

"It is a unique opportunity to do both track and soccer. Tuts reached out to me about jumping, as he recruited me towards the end of my senior year. Jeremy [Frazao] went to the same high school, so Tuts was recruiting both of us. My plan was to play both sports."

Finding the Second Sport

One of the more unique aspects of this story is the variety of sports that have connected to track & field.

For decades, football has been the pipeline for track & field. You play football in the fall and track & field in the spring. That is true for Tony Tirado. Soccer also makes sense as a fall sport, as sprinting on a pitch lends itself to racing on a track. Enter Basheer Alramahi and Sara Gennuso.

Basketball is much less common, but for hoop stars with hops, the transition can be easy. Julius Kimbrough (following in the footsteps of All-American Luke Frazier) proves that path.

Rarer still is baseball. But Tyler Gast found the way with plenty of practice and his coach's blessing.

Four sports and four paths led to a sport with room for all.

Tirado followed the tried and true path from football to track & field, but that doesn't mean it was easy. Entering college, Tony told himself, "I'm done with track & field for life." But his high school teammate, Brody Hanlon, brought him into the fold with JCU Track & Field. It was fun, to be sure, but Tirado came to a harsh realization fairly quickly.

"I found myself thinking, 'I suck at this.'" Tirado recalls. "I met with Coach Tuts and asked him what I could do to help the team. He got me on quarter-mile training, which kicked my butt. But I really wanted to be a team player. Eventually that training and work led to me loving the sport."

A linebacker for the football team, Tirado's strength turned out to be key for his endurance in the 400m, and his hurdles experience in high school made him even better. While he started his sophomore year at linebacker, Tirado chose to focus solely on track, but never really stopped being a football player.

"Tony has a football mentality on the track, which makes him special," said Tutskey. "Even if he's hurt or sore, he's going to run, which motivates other guys in a relay. His positive attitude and intangibles are invaluable."
Alramahi didn't seriously consider track & field until his season-ending meeting with Head Men's Soccer Coach Dejan Mladenovic '06.

"Deki told me that this is something I should seriously consider. Meeting with Kyle [Basista], I realized I could be pretty good, even an All-American," said Alramahi. "I was getting tired with the commuting and the travel, plus practices and film. Track was a better fit, as I managed to prioritize easier and feel more fulfilled."

Alramahi's conditioning made him a perfect fit for the 400m. His strength from being conditioned for soccer turned out to be huge. "It gave me a big edge," Alramahi confirms.

Kimbrough's athletic style of play on the hardwood worked out well for jumps. A player who loved a good dunk, Kimbrough has the leaping ability and body control for jumps, "turning that horizontal speed into vertical speed."

Gast found the sport thanks in part to Strength & Conditioning Coach Tim Robertson's broad jump testing, as Gast always performed well in that area. So, Gast thought about track, and talked with Baseball Head Coach Bobby Bell during his sophomore exit interview. In the fall, Gast did both baseball and track before focusing in the spring on track.

"I asked Tuts if he thought I could be a contributor. He told me that if I took it seriously and did the right things, yes. So, I made the call to focus on track."

JCU's Coaching Culture

Perhaps it's a Division III idea, but the level of collaboration between coaches is most certainly A Carroll Thing.

The communication and collaboration among the coaches in the JCU Athletic Department have made this success possible. Several of the student-athletes are prime examples.

Bobby Bell told Tutskey about Tyler Gast and encouraged him to give baseball a try. As Gast notes, Bell was always supportive and to this day follows up to congratulate him on his success after meets even though baseball has Bell very busy in the spring.

Dejan Mladenovic empowered Basheer Alramahi to move on from soccer to track. Mladenovic's support made the transition between sports much easier and lifted a weight off of Alramahi's back.

"Even after I quit, Deki would text me after a big race," said Alramahi. "I really appreciate Carroll and the sense of community. Everyone will support you no matter what."

"At John Carroll, we work together for our student-athletes," said Mladenovic. "What matters is that our student-athletes find their path to success. As a coach, I always want what is best for the athlete, even if that means he joins another team. As an administrator, I'm always working to help athletes grow and develop skills they'll need in life. JCU is special because everyone — coaches, administrators, faculty and staff — supports the student-athletes on and off the field."

As a current multi-sport athlete, Gennuso notes how well the coaches work together, particularly Tutskey and her soccer coach, Michael Marich.

"Both coaches were encouraging about it. During the fall, I devote all my time to soccer, and after that, I spend all my time with track," said Gennuso. "I miss out on conditioning in the offseason, but the coaches both saw that there were benefits. I got faster for soccer and for track, and it didn't take me long to get rolling since I have endurance training."

Staying on the Track

Playing two sports or transitioning between sports is just as difficult as it sounds.

Sara Gennuso knows the challenge quite well, dealing with many injuries along the way. The junior has overcome a number of significant injuries, missing plenty of time during her first three seasons.

John Carroll's Athletic Training staff has proved to be critical in her journey. Michelle Fowler, her trainer for women's soccer, and Alex Wisnyai, her trainer for track, have done great work in keeping her as healthy as possible.

"Michelle and Alex are awesome, particularly in keeping up with my exercises in recovery. They also have cool equipment that I couldn't access otherwise," said Gennuso. "JCU also brings in physical therapists, Kathleen and Anthony, from the Cleveland Clinic. That saves me from driving and they create great plans for me."

Dealing with injuries have also made Sara more grateful.

"Injury made me appreciate the ability to compete even more and motivated me to get stronger and in better shape."

Tyler Gast has experienced occasional injuries but has stayed mostly healthy. His secret is simple.

"Sleep is so important, number one," he said. "I stress that to everyone, people don't sleep enough. Eating healthy and drinking water is also key for me."

Conquering Classes

Balancing academics and athletics is not easy, but especially so when you're dealing with the stress of switching sports or playing two sports at once.

Basheer Alramahi provides the perfect blueprint for succeeding in the classroom while excelling in your sport. After all, the Biology major became the first-ever student-athlete in NCAA history to win the Elite Scholar Athlete Award (aka Elite 90 award) in back-to-back years in track & field.

"Learning how to adjust to a new team, amid transitioning to college, taught me a lot," said Alramahi. "I had to align my priorities academically and athletically. I worked on balancing travel to meets, but with sacrifices and adjustments, I've made it work."

Sara Gennuso actually finds it easier to balance academics while playing multiple sports.

"I enjoy staying busy because when you have downtime, you tend to push things off," she said. "When I'm forced to stay on schedule, I find it easier to plan everything accordingly. As an Accounting major, sometimes the work is a lot, but it is manageable."

As a graduate student, Tyler Gast has a unique challenge. Gast now works a near full-time job as a Data Analyst for ReliabilityFirst. But he's met the challenge well this semester.

"Doing grad school and working part-time while playing a sport was quite an adjustment," said Gast. "I struggled with the track part at first, as I did not have a great indoor season last year. But you find a routine that works. The daily grind of being an athlete helps you when you get into the corporate world because you know what to expect of having a consistent schedule."

Tirado has learned plenty from the experience of juggling it all.

"The experience has taught me a lot about balance in my life," he states. "The accountability you need as a student-athlete along with the dedication and hard work, I will apply it to everything else in my life."

Relaying the Wisdom

Who is better suited to help current and future student-athletes figure out how to juggle two sports or how to switch sports than the current crop of Blue Streaks with more All-American and All-Conference accolades than you can count?

So, this concluding section will allow the Blue Streaks featured here to give their advice:

"Don't be intimidated by all that goes into it, it is so worth it. Even for someone who is injured and dealing with the hard decision of 'Can my knee do both?' It is worth it if you enjoy both. You only get 4 years, so make the most out of them. I'm always excited about the next sport and season. It keeps you from burning out."
– Sara Gennuso

"You need to experience both to know. If you're afraid to jump in, talk to both coaches, get their perspectives and see how well you'd be able to compete in both."
– Basheer Alramahi

"Just have fun, have the most fun you can. When you're having fun, nothing can stop you besides yourself. Try to enjoy it."
– Julius Kimbrough

"Believe in yourself. I had to learn it. I wanted something and I knew I was the only one stopping myself. Choose your own path, you gotta trust your gut. God will work things out for you. Everything will work out the way it's supposed to … [Our football coach] always told me, 'Leave no doubt.' For me, I wanted to get the most out of JCU and see how I could apply myself the most."
– Tony Tirado

Print Friendly Version