What was your most memorable meet or race?
Out of all four years my favorite meet was the Freshman Potosi Meet, because that was the first day that I threw past 100 feet in the discus throw ( my throw was 102'4").
Out of all your high school accomplishments, which stands out the most?
My greatest accomplishment throughout high school was breaking my school record at Districts with a throw of 132'10" in the discus throw, because that throw symbolized the hard work, dedication, and persistence I put in to achieve my goals.
If you could do it all over again, is there anything you would change?
If I could do it all over again I would change how many hours I trained my senior year. I found myself overtraining, which led to multiple injuries and missing practice time. If I would have slowed down and thought about the big picture I wouldn't have missed so many practices due to injuries.
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
The most difficult obstacle that I had to overcome was learning to coach myself because our program didn't have a throwing coach the first two years I threw. But there were many people who helped me overcome that obstacle, many coach's from other schools guided me in the right direction. Those coach's include Coach Rushin and Coach Brookins who helped me extensively to achieve my goals.
What will you miss the most?
Without a doubt I will miss the friendly competition and friendships I have made. I have really enjoyed getting to know my competitors and being able to watch them achieve great goals. They were always supportive and they always wanted me to do my best even though they were throwing against me.
Do you have any advice for younger athletes?
The advice I would give younger athletes is to always have fun, never let track frustrate you or stress you out. Track is a sport where you should compete against yourself and not others. The biggest advice I can give you is to NEVER give up, my mom would always tell me when one door closes a bigger and better door opens.
What are your college plans?
My college plans are to attend Southeast Missouri State University and major in Pre Med.
Who would you like to thank?
There are so many people I want to thank, first of all I want to thank my family for supporting me at EVERY track meet and believing in me. Their support definitely encouraged me to "shake off " my disappointments and just keep on working hard. Next I want to thank John Engram for encouraging me to throw, he definitely changed my life. I also want to thank the people who cheered for me during the meets, hearing everyone cheer made every meet special. Last but not least I want to thank Coach Brookins, Coach Rushin and Coach Colbert for always believing in me, not only did they help me inside the discus ring but they also shared their virtues of caring, acceptance, appreciation, persistence, and passion that I will treasure forever.
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">Want to be featured in our Salute To Seniors series? Email PEverett@milesplit.com and answer the questions above! Congratulations to the seniors on all their hard work and success.</em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p> </p>