Caroline Kluft and JJK, step aside.
Last week I covered some good sportsmanship and bad sportsmanship stories. Now we need some motivational sports team stories.
In High School and College Track and Field, I cannot stress the importance of scoring points. Even scoring a single point makes a difference between winning or losing a conference. The ultimate goal is the team championship.
I remember competing in 6 events for points while at McGill: 60m, 300m, Long Jump, Triple Jump, 4x200m and 4x400m relays. The running events had heats and finals, so over two days I competed in 8 events with a total of 12 jumps. What hurt the most about that Conference Championship meet was we lost by a single point!
While it’s nice to win each event, scoring points is more important. False starting and getting disqualified is the ultimate “No NO”!
Last year, I wrote about the importance of building a winning team. But what happens if that Team is just one person?
In the news last weekend on Sportsillustrated was a great story of how one person can win the entire TEAM championships
High School Junior Bonnie Richardson of Rochelle, Texas earned a total of 42 team points over the entire TEAM of Chilton with 36 points. To recap her performance:
- won high jump (5 feet, 5 inches)
- second in the long jump (18′-7″)
- third in the discus (121′-0″)
- won the 200 meters (25.03)
- second in the 100 meters (12.19)
She didn’t win every event, but she still scored enough points to secure the team title. Now that’s impressive!
Click here for the full article on Sportsillustrated:
Richardson’s title march began with field events on Friday when she won the high jump (5 feet, 5 inches), placed second in the long jump (18-7) and was third in the discus (121-0).
On Saturday, she won the 200 meters in 25.03 seconds and nearly pulled off a huge upset in the 100 before finishing second (12.19) to defending champion Kendra Coleman of Santa Anna. Richardson, a junior, earned a total of 42 team points to edge team runner-up Chilton (36).
It was a good thing the 1A events were split over two days because Richardson said the heat — temperatures were in the high 90s both days — might have knocked her down. She laughed off a suggestion that she could have won more if UIL rules didn’t limit individual participation to five events.
“I don’t think I could handle any more,” she said. “It was hot and I was tired.”
Many outstanding girls athletes have dominated state meets, but few cross over from the sprints to the field events with Richardson’s success, Breithaupt said.
“The way she did it is really impressive,” Breithaupt said. “A lady like that could be a heptathlete.”
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