SALT LAKE CITY – Unhappy with his performance on the last day of the 2010 U.S. Speedskating Championships, Jonathan Kuck got the pick-me-up of a lifetime Wednesday afternoon.

The 19-year-old Uni High grad was told he made the U.S. Olympic team.

"Pretty cool," he said. "I was disappointed after my other races because I didn't do as well as I wanted to, and I wanted to make it as an individual. But it's a relief to be going. I don't think it's sunk in yet."

Kuck will join Chad Hedrick, Trevor Marsicano and Brian Hansen in team pursuit for the U.S. Long Track team at the Vancouver Games, which start Feb. 12. He is scheduled to return to Champaign today before leaving for Milwaukee next week to resume training.

Kuck celebrated Wednesday night by dining with his parents, David and Sharon, and other family members.

"I don't think it's a culmination as much as it is another step in getting better," Kuck said. "I was hoping all along that I'd make it."

So was Bruce Merrill, his former coach.

Merrill scheduled vacation in February to coincide with the Vancouver Games, even though he was unsure he could attend. On Wednesday, he entered a contest to win Olympic speedskating tickets.

"I'd probably have better luck putting on skates and trying to make the team," Merrill said. "I'd love to be able to go."

Merrill's interest spiked again when Kuck made the cut. Another C-U skater who worked under Merrill, Centennial graduate Katherine Reutter, is a short-track medal hopeful in Vancouver.

"It's nice to get two skaters there," Merrill said.

Kuck is on academic leave from Illinois, where he is majoring in engineering physics.

"We've been rooting for Jonathan for many, many years," said Mark Musselman, president of the Champaign Regional Speedskating club of which Kuck is a member. "He's a talented, extremely hard-working individual who deserves everything coming his way because he's earned it.

"He's always hopeful, ever humble."

The Olympic bid is the latest reward for Kuck, who started speedskating as a fourth-grader. He nearly cut his career short.

"I couldn't skate very well then," Kuck told The News-Gazette in 2008. "After I'd done it for a year or two, I wanted to play soccer more, but my mom (Sharon) encouraged me to keep skating."