Page 8 Sports Sep. 24- Oct. 7
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Sports Sept. 24-Oct. 7, 2014 Page 8 Senior Kristen McDowell said she lives off coffee and fair food, especially pork patties and pumpkin spice lattes. “Starbucks knows me very well,” said McDowell. In addition to her duties as co-captain of the volleyball team, McDowell is also currently in the Miss America pageant circuit. However, McDowell may not have come to Webster, without the insistence of an observant coach, and she may never have played volleyball or have become Miss Madison County without the example of an older sister. A Difficult Decision e only reason Webster Uni- versity was on McDowell’s radar was because of Merry Graf, Web- ster’s women’s volleyball coach. Graf was scouting another volleyball player when she saw McDowell. As the game pro- gressed, Graf became less inter- ested in the girl she was supposed to scout and more interested in McDowell. McDowell said she had looked at 15 colleges by the time Graf approached her about Web- ster. McDowell really did not want to look at yet another col- lege, but her father had convinced her to look at one last one. When she and her father visited Webster, McDowell said her father fell in love with the school, but she was still unconvinced. Part of the reason was because she didn’t think she was good enough. McDowell was strug- gling with her self-confidence when she learned about Webster. She thought of going to another university, one she knew would be easier and where she knew the coach. While she contemplated whether she was good enough to play at Webster, McDowell’s fa- ther kept reassuring her she could do it and she was good enough. “It was so weird. I went to Colorado for a tournament and then out of nowhere I was eating dinner with my family. When we got back that next day I was like; ‘I think I’m going to go to Webster,” McDowell said. “But it ended up being the best decision I ever made.” All in the family McDowell began playing vol- leyball because her older sister Jessica James needed a practice partner. James would take Mc- Dowell out in the yard and start tossing balls at her; all McDowell had to do was hit them back. James was also a contestant in their county fair pageants. Want- ing to be like her older sister, Mc- Dowell made up her mind to be- come a pageant contestant when she became old enough. “I had told my mom when I saw Jessica run, ‘you know I’m go- ing to do that, right?’” When she was 16, McDowell started competing in county fair pageants. She started off as Miss Staunton, from her home town Staunton, Ill. Aſter that McDow- ell tried for three years and finally became Miss Madison County in 2013. As Miss Madison County, McDowell had to go around the county promoting county fairs and agriculture. It also allowed McDowell to compete in the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen com- petition. She competed against 72 oth- er county fair queens and made it into the top 15. McDowell said it was her goal to reach that level. McDowell gave up her crown in July and is now looking for an- other. And now, McDowell is in the Miss America pageant circuit. To compete in Miss America she had to pick a talent and a cause. Mc- Dowell said she used to tap dance, so she picked that back up and dances to a remix of “Respect” made famous by Aretha Frank- lin. e cause she chose is e R-Word: Spread the Word to End the Word. McDowell is very pas- sionate about bringing awareness to the damage words like ‘retard- ed’ can have on people. She is competing for the Miss Illinois title this year and has gone through two preliminary phases. McDowell said most of her success is because of her parents. She said they have always been supportive with whatever she wanted to do. Her dad encour- ages her in athletics and her mom helps with pageants and overcom- ing stress. She says she can not re- member a time when at least one of her parents was not at an event, and if her dad’s dream comes true, he will be at all her games. “My dad more than anything wants to be the Gorlok one day,” McDowell said. McDowell is a special educa- tion major, has two on-campus jobs and is. She is also program manager and student supervi- sor for Campus Activities, a con- nections leader and orientation leader for the Office of First Year Experience, and a coach for the Rockwood under volleyball club. Webster volleyball queen holds court Photo contributed by Ramie Jayne Photography Kristin McDowell poses for a photo. She was named Miss Madison County in 2013. JORDAN PALMER/ e Journal Kristen McDowell celebrates a point in the Grant Gymnasium against Illinois Wesleyan University on Sept. 12. By Rebecca Doran Staff Writer Running star works his way to victory is summer, senior cross country runner Jason Hickson took on the responsibility of true dedication. He worked three jobs and ran 80-85 miles a week. “at was one of the most stressful summers I’ve had in a long time,” Hickson said. His training proved successful when he placed first out of 61 players at the Hanover Invitational in Indiana Sept. 6. He was named St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s (SLIAC) Player of the Week. Hickson said he ran the “absurd amount of miles” in the summer by running at least 10 to 12 miles a day. at consisted of waking up at 6 a.m. sometimes to balance his running schedule with the three jobs he had over the summer — at Fazoli’s Italian Restaurant, Dollar General and as a lifeguard at Elks Lodge. Head Cross Country Coach Dan Graber acknowledged his improved fitness and the impact it has had this season. “He’s always been a good runner and racer,” Graber said. “But since his fitness levels are so much higher this year, he’s able to go out and run in the front (of the pack) and it feels controlled to him.” Graber said in the past, Hickson would attempt to stay in the front of the pack, but was By Lara Hamdan Staff Writer Photo Contributed by Cencio Boca/ Webster Athletics Senior track runner Jason Hickson runs in the Hanover Invitational on Sept. 6. Hickson went on to win the race and is only the third ever Webster student to win a race as an individual. Webster runner goes from one fast lane to another Sophomore Valerie Martin never had a good relationship with running prior to her record- breaking career at Webster Uni- versity. Even her own mother, a former cross country runner could not convince her to run competitively. “She would make me go on runs sometimes when I was in middle school and I would just cry,” Martin said. Now when Martin runs, she is no longer crying; she is breaking records. In addition to setting a new record for fastest mile in track and field, Martin recently broke the record for fastest race time in a 4,000 meter cross country race in Webster history, beating the record by 40 seconds. Her latest feat comes less than a year aſter running competitively for the first time in her life. Martin spent most of her life swimming, but burnt out on it since she came to Webster last year. It was when she shared a biology class with Lauren Hoover that Martin’s interest turned toward running. “For the most part, I was just trying to recruit anyone,” Hoover said. Hoover said as the only returning upperclassman for the cross country and track team, she tried to recruit other girls on campus to join the team and get involved in the sport of running. She shared with Martin her training regimen. Martin was shocked by the number of miles each runner ran. “It’s craziness to run 50 miles a week, and she was just really proud about it,” Martin said. Dan Graber, head coach of the cross country and track team, did not know what to expect when Martin came to him to ask about running cross country and track 11 months ago. She had no running background and had much to work on before she could run track in the 2014 spring semester. Graber gave her a running program to use during the winter months. “I wanted to be gradual with (the program)and not give her too much right away,” Graber said. “You don’t want to give someone who is new to a sport a training program that overwhelms them and then they don’t have fun. ey just associate (running) with work.” e former swimmer, was like a fish in water when it came to running. “She was excited to get started and she started training and fell in By Tim Godfrey News Editor Dan Graber Cross Country Head Coach She (Martin) has done a good job at staying humble and remaining coachable and that’s why she will be able to improve as well. “ ” Page 7 See Hickson Page 7 See Martin Contact the writer: [email protected]
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Transcript of Page 8 Sports Sep. 24- Oct. 7
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SportsSept. 24-Oct. 7, 2014 Page 8
Senior Kristen McDowell said she lives off coffee and fair food, especially pork patties and pumpkin spice lattes.
Starbucks knows me very well, said McDowell.
In addition to her duties as co-captain of the volleyball team, McDowell is also currently in the Miss America pageant circuit. However, McDowell may not have come to Webster, without the insistence of an observant coach, and she may never have played volleyball or have become Miss Madison County without the example of an older sister.
A Difficult DecisionThe only reason Webster Uni-
versity was on McDowells radar was because of Merry Graf, Web-sters womens volleyball coach.
Graf was scouting another volleyball player when she saw McDowell. As the game pro-gressed, Graf became less inter-ested in the girl she was supposed to scout and more interested in McDowell.
McDowell said she had looked at 15 colleges by the time Graf approached her about Web-ster. McDowell really did not want to look at yet another col-lege, but her father had convinced her to look at one last one. When she and her father visited Webster, McDowell said her father fell in love with the school, but she was still unconvinced.
Part of the reason was because she didnt think she was good enough. McDowell was strug-gling with her self-confidence when she learned about Webster. She thought of going to another university, one she knew would be easier and where she knew the coach. While she contemplated whether she was good enough to play at Webster, McDowells fa-ther kept reassuring her she could do it and she was good enough.
It was so weird. I went to Colorado for a tournament and then out of nowhere I was eating dinner with my family. When we got back that next day I was like; I think Im going to go to Webster, McDowell said. But it ended up being the best decision I ever made.
All in the familyMcDowell began playing vol-
leyball because her older sister Jessica James needed a practice partner. James would take Mc-Dowell out in the yard and start
tossing balls at her; all McDowell had to do was hit them back.
James was also a contestant in their county fair pageants. Want-ing to be like her older sister, Mc-Dowell made up her mind to be-come a pageant contestant when
she became old enough.I had told my mom when I
saw Jessica run, you know Im go-ing to do that, right?
When she was 16, McDowell started competing in county fair pageants. She started off as Miss
Staunton, from her home town Staunton, Ill. After that McDow-ell tried for three years and finally became Miss Madison County in 2013.
As Miss Madison County, McDowell had to go around the
county promoting county fairs and agriculture. It also allowed McDowell to compete in the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen com-petition.
She competed against 72 oth-er county fair queens and made it into the top 15. McDowell said it was her goal to reach that level. McDowell gave up her crown in July and is now looking for an-other.
And now, McDowell is in the Miss America pageant circuit. To compete in Miss America she had to pick a talent and a cause. Mc-Dowell said she used to tap dance, so she picked that back up and dances to a remix of Respect made famous by Aretha Frank-lin. The cause she chose is The R-Word: Spread the Word to End the Word. McDowell is very pas-sionate about bringing awareness to the damage words like retard-ed can have on people.
She is competing for the Miss Illinois title this year and has gone through two preliminary phases.
McDowell said most of her success is because of her parents. She said they have always been supportive with whatever she wanted to do. Her dad encour-ages her in athletics and her mom helps with pageants and overcom-ing stress. She says she can not re-member a time when at least one of her parents was not at an event, and if her dads dream comes true, he will be at all her games.
My dad more than anything wants to be the Gorlok one day, McDowell said.
McDowell is a special educa-tion major, has two on-campus jobs and is. She is also program manager and student supervi-sor for Campus Activities, a con-nections leader and orientation leader for the Office of First Year Experience, and a coach for the Rockwood Thunder volleyball club.
Webster volleyball queen holds court
Photo contributed by Ramie Jayne PhotographyKristin McDowell poses for a photo. She was named Miss Madison County in 2013.
JORDAN PALMER/ The JournalKristen McDowell celebrates a point in the Grant Gymnasium against Illinois Wesleyan University on Sept. 12.
By Rebecca DoranStaff Writer
Running star works his way to victory
This summer, senior cross country runner Jason Hickson took on the responsibility of true dedication. He worked three jobs and ran 80-85 miles a week.
That was one of the most stressful summers Ive had in a long time, Hickson said.
His training proved successful when he placed first out of 61 players at the Hanover Invitational in Indiana Sept. 6. He was named St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conferences (SLIAC) Player of the Week.
Hickson said he ran the absurd amount of miles in the summer by running at least 10 to 12 miles a day. That consisted of
waking up at 6 a.m. sometimes to balance his running schedule with the three jobs he had over the summer at Fazolis Italian Restaurant, Dollar General and as a lifeguard at Elks Lodge.
Head Cross Country Coach Dan Graber acknowledged his improved fitness and the impact it has had this season.
Hes always been a good
runner and racer, Graber said. But since his fitness levels are so much higher this year, hes able to go out and run in the front (of the pack) and it feels controlled to him.
Graber said in the past, Hickson would attempt to stay in the front of the pack, but was
By Lara HamdanStaff Writer
Photo Contributed by Cencio Boca/ Webster AthleticsSenior track runner Jason Hickson runs in the Hanover Invitational on Sept. 6. Hickson went on to win the race and is only the third ever Webster student to win a race as an individual.
Webster runner goes from one fast lane to another
Sophomore Valerie Martin never had a good relationship with running prior to her record-breaking career at Webster Uni-versity. Even her own mother, a former cross country runner could not convince her to run competitively.
She would make me go on runs sometimes when I was in middle school and I would just cry, Martin said.
Now when Martin runs, she is no longer crying; she is breaking records. In addition to setting a new record for fastest mile in track and field, Martin recently broke the record for fastest race time in a 4,000 meter cross country race in Webster history, beating the record by 40 seconds. Her latest feat comes less than a year after running competitively for the first time in her life.
Martin spent most of her life swimming, but burnt out on it since she came to Webster last year. It was when she shared a biology class with Lauren Hoover that Martins interest turned toward running.
For the most part, I was just trying to recruit anyone, Hoover said.
Hoover said as the only returning upperclassman for the cross country and track team, she tried to recruit other girls on campus to join the team and get involved in the sport of running. She shared with Martin her training regimen.
Martin was shocked by the number of miles each runner ran.
Its craziness to run 50 miles a week, and she was just really proud about it, Martin said.
Dan Graber, head coach of the cross country and track team, did not know what to expect when Martin came to him to ask about running cross country and track 11 months ago. She had no running background and had much to work on before she could run track in the 2014 spring semester. Graber gave her a running program to use during the winter months.
I wanted to be gradual with (the program)and not give her too much right away, Graber said. You dont want to give someone who is new to a sport a training program that overwhelms them and then they dont have fun. They just associate (running) with work.
The former swimmer, was like a fish in water when it came to running.
She was excited to get started and she started training and fell in
By Tim GodfreyNews Editor
Dan Graber
Cross Country Head Coach
She (Martin) has done a good job
at staying humble and remaining
coachable and thats why she will be able to improve as well.
Page 7See HicksonPage 7See Martin
Contact the writer: [email protected]
