Local Athletes Spotlight: Ballin' More Than A Habit For Gehrkes

MOKENA, IL — Basketball runs in the Gehrke's genes, or at least for sisters Sydney, 18, and Gracen, 15, and their cousin Cienna, 17. All three girls are on the Lincoln-Way Central High School girls varsity basketball team in New Lenox — Sydney and Cienna as seniors and Gracen as a sophomore. All three, from Mokena, have been playing with and against each other for most of their lives. And all three sat down with Patch to answer some burning questions about basketball and life.

Here's what they had to say. (Note: Interview is lightly edited for clarity.)

Patch: When did you start playing basketball and what drew you to the sport?

Gracen: My dad (Jeff Gehrke) played it a lot with me when I was younger, probably around (age) 4 or 5.

Sydney: I probably started playing at around the same age (as Gracen). Cienna and I started playing in an ROL league, a little kids league. I got interested in basketball because of my dad. He encouraged us because he really likes the sport.

Cienna: Yeah, we were in the same intramural, in-house basketball team. My mom coached us. We went on and we played on travel teams together and have been playing together ever since.

Patch: Who do you look up to most and why?

Gracen: My parents (Jeff and Beth Gehrke) because they’re really good people. They’re really successful.

Sydney: I’d probably say my dad. He’s very hard working and he’s very dedicated. And he puts in a lot of time to make sure we can reach our fullest potential and we have the best opportunities possible.

Cienna: I’d probably say my grandfather (Doug Gehrke). He dedicates a lot of his time to his work and he has to sacrifice a lot with seeing us play games so he can provide for his family and everybody else.

Patch: What’s your favorite memory of playing basketball?

Gracen: I’ve played with the same people my whole life, so I feel like any tournaments when we were younger, when we won those tournaments, those are my best memories.

Sydney: Middle school in Mokena. Me and Cienna were on the same team. In seventh grade we went to state and we got third place. I remember the game before we got into the Final Four and I made a game-winning shot in the last 13 seconds. It was super exciting, so I remember that very clearly.

Cienna: I’d probably say ever since we were in sixth grade it was always me, Sydney, Nicole (Connolly) and Caitlyn (Rochon) we all played together. We’re all pretty good friends. We’ve been friends since early elementary school and we’ve all been on the same team for awhile. This is the first year we’re all on varsity together, but all throughout junior high and travel we were all on the same teams, and that’s pretty special.

Patch: Who would you say has been your toughest competition so far?

Gracen: My friend Lina (Panos). She’s very tall and she pushes me to be my best. She’s really good. And my friend Gianna (Amadio). She’s really good at defense.

Sydney: My friend Nicole. We’ve always kind of butted heads. Of course I like playing with her, and we’re friends, but it’s always been a competition between us two. Team wise, probably our Lincoln-Way schools. They’re our biggest rivals and it’s really good if we beat them.

Cienna: I’d say Lina Panos, as well. Just because you’re friends with her, she’s not going to let you get off easy at practice. She’s going to make you work as hard as if it were a game. She’s a really good competitor.

Patch: What does winning feel like to you?

Gracen: It’s like so much pride. It’s hard to explain. You feel so proud and you’re on cloud nine. It’s so fun.

Sydney: You feel on top of the world. You feel like you’ve made everyone proud. I look up to my father and it really makes me happy when I’m able to make him proud. Like when I made that shot in middle school, I just remember him being so happy and he had the biggest smile on his face. And I just love making people happy. So if I can make people happy by making the winning shot, then I can do that.

Cienna: If we win a really big game or something like that, it feels like all of our hard work paid off. We work hard and we’re talented and it pays off.

Patch: What’s been your biggest challenge in basketball?

Gracen: This sounds weird, but I’m an unathletic athlete. I’m very slow, not very strong. I’m pretty smart for a basketball player, but I’m not fast and I’m not strong, so it’s really hard rebounding and playing defense. But, I do what I can.

Sydney: I definitely say I’m more the athlete between the two of us. But, no, I get in my head very easily, and I get down very easily. So, it’s like me having to pick myself up and say, "It’s OK that I’m making these mistakes. I’m supposed to make these mistakes." Just getting over them and learning from them, I think that’s been my biggest challenge.

Cienna: I get frustrated easily. It gets in my head. If I keep messing up and I get frustrated, then it’s hard to overcome that.

Patch: Who is your favorite athlete of all time?

Gracen: Probably Steph Curry because I would always talk about and my dad would always talk about, "Oh, he shoots this much, so you should go to the gym and shoot this much. And this is his percentage during the game, so try to make that percentage." So I feel like I’ve looked up shooting-wise how he is and I try to match it. I don’t, but I still try to.

Sydney: Especially after watching "The Last Dance," I’d say Dennis Rodman because he’s definitely a hustle player. As much as you want to be the player who’s scoring all the points and getting all the glory, you got to have those crucial role players who are getting the rebounds and going on the ground to get the ball. I really like when players play hard and they put a lot of work into it.

Cienna: Honestly, I would have to agree (with Rodman). He is very out there. I think in "The Last Dance," didn’t they say he was such a weird guy? Like how he’s so out there and he doesn’t care what people think. I admire that about people. If someone just does not care what other people think and they’ll just be themselves. He’ll do the dirty work. I admire that.

Patch: Do you have any pre game rituals?

Gracen: I keep this little thing — this thing my mom got me from Las Vegas. It’s a tiny, little voodoo doll that I put on every bag I have. His name is Pete.

Sydney: I wear these socks a lot. They read, "Ball is life."

Cienna: I’m not a superstitious person. I do listen to upbeat music to get me pumped for a game. Mr. Worldwide — some Pitbull.

Patch: If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be and why?

Sydney: Kobe Bryant. Just his work ethic because I like the work ethic of you work hard and you can achieve what you want to achieve. His work ethic was like he would never give up, even when challenges would come his way. Having conversations about that — I try to make that my personality. I put that in my life after tearing my ACL. It’s just applying all those aspects. So, I’d really like to have a conversation with him.

Cienna: I’d probably say Mac Miller because he writes really beautiful music.

Gracen: I would say Dylan O'Brien because I just have this weird obsession with him. He’s in movies as an actor and I’d just really like to meet him.

Patch: What’s next for you?

Gracen: If I get a scholarship for basketball I’d like to go to a good school. I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to go to a good academic school just to play basketball. But, if it was a good academic school, then I probably would play. I want to be an orthodontist when I’m older. I hate my teeth right now, so when I grow up I want to fix people’s teeth because that’s such a big thing to me.

Sydney: I’d go to a university or a college. That’s my goal. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do yet. Definitely something in the science field and helping people in general. Me and Gracen always joked about opening up a practice together. I’d be the dentist and she’d be the orthodontist because I’ll do all the dirty work. Or doing something in orthopedics and helping athletes who are injured because I’ve had a lot of experience in that. Just helping people in general. I’d love to do that when I’m older.

Cienna: Probably going to a university. I’m between Mizzou and Iowa right now, and I want to be a nurse practitioner.

Know a local athlete who should be featured on Patch? Reach out to Editor TJ Kremer III at tj.kremer@patch.com for a chance to be featured.

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