Tom Archdeacon: Wright State's Ellie Magestro-Kennedy fends off a tough opponent

Nov. 22—FAIRBORN — While the Wright State women overpowered Slippery Rock, 82-45, Monday at the Nutter Center thanks to several efforts — Kacee Baumhower had 17 points; Rachel Loobie and Alexis Hutchison both had 16 — the most impressive performance of the night came from freshman guard, Ellie Magestro-Kennedy.

She didn't score. She didn't play. She didn't dress.

But that's not to say her presence didn't dominate the night.

She not only turned in a yeoman's performance Monday — as she does every day — but she was the inspiration for one of the most important outings the Raiders will have this season.

For this game, Wright State partnered with SLAMT1D to broaden the awareness of Type 1 diabetes, a lethal, life-altering autoimmune disease that has no prevention, no cure and afflicts some two million people in the United States. And that number is on the rise.

Magestro-Kennedy was diagnosed with T1D when she was a freshman at Janesville Craig High School in Wisconsin. But the disease didn't deter her. She lettered four straight years in basketball, scored over 1,000 points, twice won all-state honors, and received numerous Division I scholarship offers.

She signed with Horizon League power IUPUI, but when head coach Austin Parkinson left for Butler, she decommitted and signed with Wright State, a program with which she said she felt an immediate connection.

She felt so comfortable that she told the WSU coaches up front about her T1D, something she said she didn't initially tell other coaches during her recruiting visits.

"Maybe that wasn't great, but I didn't want it to be seen as a crutch," she said.

The WSU coaches and players didn't just show support, they've tried to learn more about what she goes through each day.

With several older, more experienced guards on the team this season, the 18-year-old Magestro-Kennedy is redshirting to hone her game for a year and, in the process, settle into the routine she must endure each day to control her diabetes.

Every day she must check her blood glucose (sugar) levels, administer, and adjust insulin dosages and constantly calculate her meals.

"I have an app of my phone and it connects to a little device I have implanted in my leg," she said. "It tells me my blood sugar throughout the day. If I don't have that on, I have to check it myself 12 to 15 times a day. If it's low, I'll eat some carbs or sugar, (Gatorade, candy, glucose tabs.) If it's high, I'll take insulin."

Her daily ordeal is what led to a happenstance connection with SLAMT1D, the Vermont-based non-profit organization that strives to broaden awareness, educate others and advocate for those with T1D and their families.

The CEO and founder of SLAMT1D is Jeff Kolok. His daughter Johanna — known as JoJo — was diagnosed with the disease when she was 4 1/2 and now she's a vibrant 23-year-old.

Kolok, a former rugby player and real estate developer, is also the girls basketball coach at Mount Mansfield Union High School in Jericho, Vermont.

He said he and another coach were studying videos of the specialized, dribble-motion offense employed by Wright State associate head coach John Leonzo and decided to contact head coach Kari Hoffman to see if they could come watch a practice or two in September so they could install a version of that offense in their program.

"It's always OK to share the game, especially when somebody is willing to fly from Vermont on their own dime," Hoffman said. "When they got here, they were really nice guys and we got close to them."

During their conversation, Kolok told the WSU coaches about the SLAMT1D organization he and his wife Natalie had started, and he said he was surprised when they told him about Magestro-Kennedy:

"I said, 'How about if we do an awareness game this season? And they were all in."

Using sports to drive awareness

"When our daughter was diagnosed, I knew nothing about type 1 diabetes," Kolok said.

But the more he found out about the disease and the dire consequences that can occur without a vigilant daily regiment to manage it, the more he and his wife felt compelled to do whatever they could for their daughter and other people dealing with the disease.

He sold his real estate development business, formed what has become SLAMT1D and vowed, as he put it Monday night, "to spend all my waking hours for the rest of my life, fighting this thing and bringing awareness."

As JoJo — who now handles social media for SLAMT1D, has been a counselor at diabetes camps and continues to mentor kids dealing with the disease — put it:

"I think because my diagnosis came so suddenly and scared my parents so much, they put all their time and effort into learning about this disease they knew nothing about and helping me so nothing would happen.

"That made it a lot better for me to enjoy my life and they've done the same for so many other people, too.

"I can think back on myself as a four-year-old and remember how scared and isolated I felt as first. I remember the doctor saying there was no cure and then I had to get needles that exact same day."

Her dad said: "There are a great deal of misconceptions about Type 1 diabetes.

"Some people say, 'Oh, that's the bad kind!' Well, in some respects, I guess it is the bad kind. It's a genetic autoimmune disease that can't be prevented or reversed and it's lethal. It has to be monitored 24/7, 365 days a year, for the rest of your life.

"I remember I spoke at an event when my daughter was 10. She had been diagnosed at 4 1/2 and I figured she'd probably had 37,000 injections and needle sticks by then. There's a real responsibility that comes with it."

And the consequences always lurk.

"I've been in two ambulance rides with my daughter," he admitted,

But the physical and psychological challenges can be overcome and that's the gospel of SLAMT1D.

And JoJo and Ellie are delightful proof of that.

There are celebrities and high-profile athletes who have navigated the challenges of T1D in their lives and become successful. That includes people like Nick Jonas, Adele, Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Mary Tyler Moore, Patti LaBelle and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Sports figures include former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, golfer Scott Verplank and Olympic gold medal swimmer Gary Hall.

SLAMT1D has raised awareness and funds in a number of ways, especially by using sports as a vehicle.

This past August, the organization put on its 13th annual Vermont Summer Classic wiffle ball tournament at Little Fenway Park in Essex, Vermont. It's a Field of Dreams experience that draws teams from all over and this year raised over $300,000 to help empower people with T1D to live a full life despite the demands of the disease.

Around the Northeast, SLAMT1D has sponsored awareness games involving basketball and hockey teams.

After her dad talked to the Wright State coaches in September and met Ellie, JoJo said he came back home and told her:

"We're going back to Ohio!"

'I want to help kids deal with it'

Ellie said her parents have always been there for her.

When she showed a real penchant for basketball and used to pester her dad — a former Division III football player and still a fitness buff — to take her to a gym 30 minutes away to work out, he eventually came up with a better solution.

"When my parents built a new home, they put a little gym in the back," she said as she sat along the sideline at the Nutter Center court Monday night. "It's about like the half court out here. It's got two baskets."

When she was diagnosed, she said her parents told her: "'We'll work through this together.' They made me realize I can do it. At first things were a little bit of a challenge. There's a learning curve to it, but I've been able to navigate it.

"And now I just make sure everything is right before I go into practice or a workout. And if something gets low, I might have to step out a moment and deal with it."

Hoffman has been impressed by the way she's handled her situation:

"She never approaches it like it's a burden. She's awesome. Just so full of joy and passion. You'd never know she's dealing with anything."

Jo Jo was just as impressed. She does a podcast for SLAMT1D and interviewed Ellie before the game.

Monday night the WSU players and coaches all wore blue SLAMT1D shirts onto the court. Souvenir T-shirts also were tossed into the crowd and at halftime Magestro-Kennedy appeared on the big, video scoreboard above the court and told her story.

Sitting up in stands was a WSU head coach whose wife has Type 1 diabetes and, just recently, their young daughter was diagnosed with it, as well.

Once she starts playing next season — and the WSU coaches are impressed by her skills — Magestro-Kennedy certainly will become a shining example for people dealing with the disease.

She wants that ... and more.

"One day when my college basketball career is over, I'd like to take it to the next level and play overseas," she said. "That would be so cool.

"And I'm going to school to be a nurse. An endocrinology nurse practitioner for Type 1 diabetes. I want to help kids deal with it."

She already did that Monday.

It was the most impressive performance of the night.