Sarah Storey, who has been a force on the 1A/2A jumps and sprint circuit, will be headed to Idaho State University in the fall. Photo by Alan Versaw.
(all marks with legal wind readings)
100 Meters: 13.05
Long Jump: 17-1.5
Triple Jump: 35-2
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Pocatello is a long way from Mosca. What drew you in to Idaho State?
What drew me to Idaho State was it was a small town, which reminded me of being home. I really enjoyed the campus of ISU, it was a very comfortable environment for me. Also, coach Dave's fun personality and his experience with being a jump coach. I was able to watch coach Dave coach the jumps and I loved how he used drills that I have seen from some of my coaches and how he had one on one time with each of his athletes.
What do you plan to study at Idaho State?
I plan to study Speech Pathology and Sign Language. I choose Speech Pathology and Sign Language because I took a sign language class in high school, and I really enjoyed the language. Also, I want to be a speech therapist and help those that aren't able to communicate as well as they would like to.
You've been pretty active in the indoor seasons in your high school career. Is there a trip to Simplot on your winter schedule, or will you be staying closer to home?
Yes, I think we are going to try and attend the Simplot Games--I mean my dad better get used to driving if he wants to come to any ISU meets. But, yes we are also going to go to some indoor meets in Albuquerque.
You've stuck with cross country through high school even though sprints and jumps are more your focus and running cross country means running for a school other than the one you attend. Tell us a little about that commitment.
In the San Luis Valley not all schools offered cross country, so when I was in sixth grade I decided to join cross country for Sargent, even though I attended Sangre. It was a tough decision to be at a different school with different people, but it was worth it because now I have a cross country family. As the years went on I realized my success was more in jumps and sprints and I decided to still stay committed to cross country because they supported my jumping career throughout the cross country seasons, and I liked being around all my friends for that season, and I loved all the coaches. At the end of the day my loyalty is to my sport, my teammates, and my coaches.
You seemed to do less sprinting last spring than in previous track seasons. Was that a purposeful decision to focus more keenly on your jumps?
I decided to focus more on my jumps because I realized, to be more consistent, I had to stop doing the 100 and 200. Also, I decided it would probably be a bonus because, every time I sprinted, I was always compared to my older sister Marissa (2014 100/200m 2A State Champ, now running for Utah Valley University). Although, I still enjoy sprinting the 100m outdoor and the 60m in the indoor, in the long run it [the decision] will make my jump mark more consistent!
From all your high school experiences to date, which one stands out as the biggest highlight?
The 2015 State meet was great with winning the LJ, but I really enjoyed competing in Junior Olympics this past June, because I had the opportunity to compete against 3A, 4A, 5A girls, and college girls who were still 18. I really enjoyed it because, it got me out of my comfort zone and it helped me realize you are not always on top, but that doesn't mean you don't stop trying to get a PR. I realized comparing yourself to others doesn't help the situation. If you love to jump, and you are there to get a PR, deep down that's all that really matters. That day, I got my PR (5.42m) and placed third overall. Like my grandpa always says, "Today was a good day, but remember, there's always someone better than you; you just haven't met them yet." Helps keep me humble and keeps things in perspective.
