Most high school athletes train for numerous seasons to advance to a state competition, but for Kapaa High School’s junior Jennifer Lindsey, all it took was four months of strides, buttkicks, kickouts, and jumps to earn a gold medal at
Most high school athletes train for numerous seasons to advance to a state competition, but for Kapaa High School’s junior Jennifer Lindsey, all it took was four months of strides, buttkicks, kickouts, and jumps to earn a gold medal at the HHSAA State Track meet.
“I didn’t even think I could make it this far,” said Lindsey. “I advise people to join track because you can do a lot better than you think, and it’s not only running.”
Teammate Jackie Huttger, a senior and 4th-year state competitor, also placed 3rd, tied with Iolani’s Kelly Higa with a jump of 4-11.0.
“I was so scared at first,” Huttger said. “The huge stadium and all the people made me nervous, but our close team and coaches made it really fun.”
Lindsey, a first-year track participant, admits that her legs are “slow” but her height of 6’2″ was the key to her 5-01.0 jump that earned her first place at the high jump event at states, easily accomplishing her goal to rank in the top five.
“I’m the tallest girl in my school and I’m still growing,” Lindsey said. “I even made a bet at states that I was going to be the tallest girl there, and I was right.”
Lindsey’s involvement in track began with the encouragement from her coach, Mr. Edgeworth.
“Mr. Edgeworth said he saw me surfin’ one day and saw that I had coordination, so he suggested that I join track,” Lindsey said. “I like Mr. Edgeworth because he’s positive and always tells you that you are doing a good job.”
“I dont want Mr. Edgeworth to ever quit,” added Huttger. “I remember surprising him when I first jumped because I’m short, and I showed him that short people can jump too.”
Once Lindsey tried the sport and found that she was good at it, she decided to stick with it. “I plan to participate again next year,” Lindsey said. “What motivates me is wanting to show people that you dont have to have a high budget school, to do good.”
When she’s not out on the field, Lindsey plays volleyball, her favorite sport, for the Kapaa Warrior’s varsity team as a middle and a setter. Often she would play beach volleyball with her mother, strengthning her muscles in the sand. “Jumping on sand helped a lot,” Lindsey said.
With only a year left of high school, Jennifer is thinking about attending UH Manoa to play volleyball with her favorite athlete, Brian Beckwith, a setter for the mens UH volleyball team, and major in either engineering or biology.
Huttger is also heading for UH in the fall, where she plans on trying out for the soccer team.
