In 2001,
Kris Kistler watched recruit Jilian Widick of Normal West High School toil for 20 innings in an IHSA Regional before dropping a 1-0 decision to eventual state champion Normal Community. The Augustana head coach was later quoted in the
Bloomington Pantagraph, "Right then and there, I knew we had somebody coming in who was going to battle and was gutsy." Kistler was certainly proven correct and after a career which put her at or near the top of nearly every pitching category in program history, Widick joins the Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame as a member of its class of 2020.
To this day Kistler still remembers that recruiting trip. "The conditions were awful, it was raining off and on throughout the game and Jilian was matched against a pitcher who would go on and pitch at Iowa in the Big 10. She never backed down and battled to the end in a performance that we were getting someone who was going to lay it out on the line each time. And that is what she did for her entire career."
A 5' 5" right-hander, Widick posted a 40-14 record during her junior and senior seasons at Normal West in Normal, Illinois, winning team MVP honors and All-State recognition before graduating in 2001.
Widick made her Augustana debut in the 2002 season opener versus Alma, throwing four shutout innings in relief. She shared the circle with three other outstanding hurlers as a freshman and by the end of the season, had made 13 appearances, completing three of six starts. She finished 7-2 with an ERA of 0.74—third-best in program history at the time and fourth-best to this day.
"Jilian was one of the top competitors I have ever coached," said Kistler. "I know people told her you aren't tall enough, you aren't fast enough, etc. her entire life. But they didn't count for that huge heart that she had and the fact that she wanted the ball under any circumstances."
Widick and senior Hayley Hallstrom, a 2017 Tribe Hall of Fame inductee, were Kistler's pitching mainstays in 2003. The sophomore's workload jumped to 113 1/3 innings from 47 as a freshman. She went 10-8, leading the staff in wins, ERA (1.24), appearances (20), innings pitched, complete games (15 in 17 starts), shutouts (five) and strikeouts (110). She was a second team All-CCIW selection.
After winning 27 and 26 games, respectively, in the previous two seasons, 2004 was a breakout year for Kistler's bunch. Behind Widick's 20-4 mark, Augustana won a school-record 36 games against just nine losses, captured its second CCIW championship and made its second NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The Vikings also swept three straight games to claim their first CCIW Tournament title. Widick earned two of those wins, surrendering just seven hits and one run in a pair of complete games.
In the 2004 NCAA Tournament opener, Widick dropped a 1-0 decision to the University of Chicago on an unearned run in the 11th inning. The junior and her teammates bounced back in the losers' bracket however, picking up the program's first two NCAA wins ever, before being eliminated. Widick spun a complete-game four-hitter to get the Vikings past Lake Forest, finishing the year with a 0.85 ERA in 164 innings. Her 183 strikeouts, 19 complete games and seven shutouts were all school records. She also had a pair of saves in six relief efforts to tie the school mark.
Widick's numbers as a senior were remarkably similar to the previous year. She matched 2004's 20-4 record, 29 appearances, 23 starts and school-record 19 complete games. She broke her own marks with nine shutouts and three saves and posted a 1.17 ERA with 139 strikeouts in 167 2/3 innings. She earned team MVP, first team All-CCIW and first team all-region honors for the second straight year as Augustana finished 33-12 overall and in second place in the CCIW.
A biology and pre-physical therapy major at Augustana, Widick graduated in 2005 with career records for wins (57), complete games (56), shutouts (24—twice as many as any other pitcher in program history), strikeouts (477), saves (seven) and appearances (91). Only the latter two have been surpassed in the ensuing 15 years. Her 1.04 career ERA ranks second all-time and her 492 innings pitched are third. Her single-season marks for complete games, shutouts and strikeouts still stand as well. In addition, she owns three of the top ten single-season ERAs in program history (and four of the top 13) and is the only hurler to appear more than once in the top ten.
Jilian went on to earn her Doctor of Physical Therapy and certificate of health sciences from the University of Indianapolis and for the last 13 years has been a physical therapist for the Community Health Network. She and her husband Dereck Miller reside in Bargersville, Indiana with their children Ella and Grayson.
"I loved my time at Augustana and couldn't believe how fast those four years went," said Widick. "The classes were tough but I felt very prepared for graduate school. Augustana was such a family atmosphere and I enjoyed getting involved with a variety of groups and always seeing someone you knew on the way to class." She added "I always appreciated the support from not only our friends and family, but also the staff and faculty that would show up at our games. Being a student athlete really helped me develop good time management and organizational skills that I still rely on today."
