Freshman 'Wards' off competition
By Samica Knight
Daily Cougar Staff
"I'm from a small town and you know when
you come from a small town you want to go to the big city," freshman Krystal
Ward said.
Pin Lim/The Daily Cougar
Freshman Krystal Ward hopes
to capture a Conference USA championship this year. Ward has proved her
excellence in the heptathlon.
With that, Ward put some muscle behind
her and moved from Rusk to Houston, bringing her high jump, long jump and
javelin talents with her to
leap to the top as a respected Cougar
heptathlete.
While attending Rusk High School, Ward
was All-East Texas in basketball, first team All-District in volleyball,
a cheerleader and a member of the
band.
But Ward realized that her love was solely
for track and field.
Though she was recruited by some of the
top track programs in the country — including Notre Dame, Texas A&M,
Rice, Texas and Texas
Christian — Ward was confident that Houston
would make the best home for her growing talent.
"The adjustment was difficult," Ward said.
"But I liked Houston. I thought that I could come here, be on a good team,
and train in a nice facility."
One of the main reasons Ward chose to make
Houston her home was the renowned Cougar track and field coaching staff.
"Coach (Leroy) Burrell is cool and he is
really easy to talk to," Ward said. "I like Coach Tellez a lot. He is a
good coach and he's really cool, too."
During her time at Houston, Ward says that
she has gained another family in her teammates.
" The whole team is one big family," she
said. "Everyone supports each other because we are all trying to make it
to the NCAAs."
Especially since she is only a freshman,
Ward has had an astounding season.
She beat her personal best with 5-10.00
in the high jump at Louisiana State's LSU Invitational last weekend.
Even though her sensational season speaks
for itself, Ward said she feels there's always room for improvement.
"It's sort of surprising, but I feel like
I'm not actually where I should be in every event," Ward said.
Ward is a kinesiology major, and she hopes
to someday complete physical therapy school — all while grasping tightly
to an Olympic gold
medal.
And when the time comes, Ward looks forward
to getting married, raising a family and in her own words, "living a simple
life in the country."
But as for now, she has one focus in mind:
winning a Conference USA championship.
Ward holds fast to her belief that winning
a C-USA tournament is indeed possible.
"I believe that all things are possible
through Christ," Ward said. "And God willing, I will get a gold in the
heptathlon."
