Unfailing Commitment

Poetic justice, perhaps. Or simply a really nice, feel-good story, the joyous last chapter in the track and field career of Collegiate School’s Emily Mendelson.

 

By any description, 2018 graduate’s final two Saturdays wearing the Green and Gold were memory-makers, not just for her but for anyone else who appreciates a good-things-happen-to-good-people narrative that has a happy ending.

 

On May 12 in the League of Independent Schools championship meet on a sun-baked, 95-degree day at Collegiate, Emily won the 300 hurdles (47.27) and placed second in the pole vault (school record 9-6) and fourth in both the long jump (16-3) and triple jump (33-7.25). She also ran legs on the Cougars’ second place 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

 

A week later, despite rain, slick runways, and a 45-minute electrical-storm delay, she won the triple jump (34-5) and placed second in the long jump (16-4.75) and pole vault (9-6) in the VISAA championship at Sports Backers Stadium. She also picked up a seventh in the 300 hurdles, ran a leg of the sixth place 4x400, and contributed 28.75 points to the Cougars’ second-place effort.

 

A year earlier, though, Emily’s end-of-the-year story was not so rosy.

 

Primed to excel in the 2017 LIS meet on another blustery, rainy Saturday at Norfolk Academy, she fractured her right heel when she landed awkwardly on her second attempt in the triple jump.

 

Typically, after an 89-foot run-up, Emily launches into the first of three phases off her right foot, but this time, her steps were off, and she hit the board with her left. Rather than continue through the pit and be charged with a foul, she completed the “hop” with her left, then landed hard on her right heel when she began the “step.” That’s when the damage occurred.     

 

“At the time, I didn’t realize (the extent of the injury),” she said. “I continued to compete. That probably was not the best decision.”

 

Early the following week, Dr. Robert Tuten of Tuckahoe Orthopedics diagnosed her injury. She watched the state meet with her right foot in a boot.

 

Disappointed? Of course she was, but she found a silver lining.

 

“One thing I actually enjoyed about being on the sideline was seeing other events that I usually could not watch because they went on concurrently with my events,” she said. “Connecting better with my teammates and cheering them on really helped facilitate a speedy recovery.”

 

The experience also fueled her already intense competitive fire.

 

“The mindset I had going into my senior year,” she said, “was to work really hard and end with a memorable state meet.”

 

Mission accomplished, and the elation that the Collegiate faithful felt when she received the Outstanding Field Event Performer Award in Division I was testimony to the respect she commands among teammates and competitors.

        

“Emily demonstrates the true, selfless nature of being a team player while also maintaining the highest level of competitiveness,” said Brent Miller, Collegiate’s hurdles and horizontal jumps coach. “While her determination to succeed extends far beyond track and field, her will to compete again (following her injury) was on full display over the last twelve months. 

 

“It says a great deal about her character that while she was training for her comeback, she never lost sight of the value that each of her fellow athletes brought to the team.  She consistently spent extra time working to refine her technical skills in the field events and did an extraordinary job of balancing her training schedule. We’ll miss her leadership and humble spirit, but it's her legacy of how to ‘run the race’ that will continue to impact future athletes in our program.”

 

Emily’s excellence isn’t limited just to athletic pursuits.

 

She was a member of Cum Laude, a dedicated and accomplished violinist, the founder of Collegiate’s girls’ rocketry club, the impetus behind a Women in STEAM symposium, section editor of the Torch, and co-president of Darr-Davis.

 

At Collegiate’s 103^rd Commencement May 25, she received the Johnel Poffenberger Award, an honor named for a 1960 alumna and presented to the senior girl “who has given the most consistent, selfless, and unseeking service to the school and her community.”

 

“Independent, lazar-sharp, and sincere to a fault, Emily is known for her unfailing commitment,” said Upper School head Patrick Loach in his citation. “As one of her teachers notes, ‘She doesn’t just show up. She produces the best results possible in every pursuit.’”

 

So how has Emily, who's bound for the University of Richmond, managed her time and found a way to achieve excellence in each of her endeavors? Meticulous organization, for sure. Curiosity and seriousness of purpose as well. An unwavering joie de vivre. And gratitude.

 

“Collegiate,” she said, “has cultivated a community of learners who really embody honor, excellence, respect, love of learning, and community. In all the activities I’ve done, that’s the common thread. I’m grateful to have been around people who share these core values.”

   -- Weldon Bradshaw