By Ken Hansard

Kids everywhere love their elementary school “field days.”  Little did Caney Valley Bullpups senior Janie Pond know, but her experiences with field day would lead to a new passion,  “I typically placed well in my events (at field day), leading me to look forward to it every year. In addition, it is a very social sport where everyone is supportive and cheering you on, which furthered my love for it.”

As a senior, Pond has become the one who sets the example for others, “I view myself, and hope others do, too, as a guiding hand for the underclassmen. I try to help them feel the same love for the sport as I do, so I give them tips, answer questions, and motivate them as much as possible.”

Pond’s goal entering her final season was to lower her P.R.’s for her events.  She not only met those goals, but in many ways far exceeded them:  “I removed an entire second from both the 100m hurdles and 300m hurdles, and our 4x100m relay ran the fastest time our coach had logged in his years of coaching.  This season has turned out a lot better than I expected.  I’ve placed in nearly every race this season and am still seeing improvement.”

 In addition to track and field, Pond has many other interests. She was the Vice-President of her FFA chapter, where she earned her state degree, and was a two time state champion in poultry evaluation.  She was also involved in Powerlifting and broke the league squat record for the 156 lb. weight class.  She was involved in cheerleading each of her four years, NHS for four years, and cross country for three years.  Janie was also a member of the Math Team, and was a state champion who qualified for nationals.

Janie’s plans are to begin classes at Kansas State University in the fall to study biology.  She would like to continue with post-graduate studies in optometry.