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WINONA LAKE - Eighth place. One point.
That's all it took for Bridget Byers to almost single-handedly put the Grace College women's track and field team on the map in NAIA competition.
Byers, a senior from Princeton, Ill., scored that one point in the discus two years ago at the NAIA national meet in Atlanta, Ga. The small private school from Winona Lake with the track team that has never even come close to winning a conference championship (and doesn't even have a track) became the best NAIA track team in all of Indiana in 1996. No other school in the state scored a point.
"I was able to compete with the big girls," Byers said. "That was the best time I'd ever had in track. I haven't come close yet to qualifying again. That one season I guess was just a really good season."
But that was two years ago. Although Byers hasn't qualified for another trip to the NAIA finals, she has her eyes set on a different national championship this weekend, the NCCAA.
She has qualified to compete in the discus, the shot put and the hammer throw at the meet and feels good about her chances. Last year, Byers ended second in the discus at this meet with a toss of 114-feet-10, just two inches short of first place. She also ended sixth in the shot put and ninth in the hammer throw.
"I'm shooting for 40 feet (in the shot put), and that will get me in at least second place," Byers said. "For discus, I'm going to win it. That is my goal. I've settled for second, or close to it, every time. This year I'm taking the whole thing."
Byers, who holds two varsity letters in volleyball and four in track, has reason to be confident. After all, she holds five school records. She holds records in the indoor shot put (40-9), the indoor weight throw (41-10), the outdoor discus (139-2), the outdoor hammer (119 feet) and the outdoor shot put (38-10.5), which she just reset last week.
"I wanted to get the javelin record, but I'm not very good at that," Byers said.
She's also won the MCC championship in the discus the last two years and finished second in the conference in the shot put. Byers has been named team MVP twice and has scored the most points on the team three times. She has been named to the All-MCC team in both 1997 and '98 and has qualified for the NCCAA national meet all four years.
Byers has definitely set some marks for future athletes to shoot for. And that's a future that looks brighter and brighter all the time. Grace College will be building a track that will only attract more talent. Byers credits head coach Kirk Heng for really helping the program turn the corner.
"Kirk has done wonders for our program," Byers said. "He's recruited tremendously every year. He's putting in a track for us next year so now we can start hosting meets, we'll have great facilities and more people will want to come. I'm just sad that I won't be able to run on it."
Byers shrugs off the problems of being on the road for every meet of her college career and actually sees positives from it.
"I'm so used to it," Byers said. "I think volleyball helped, traveling all the time. We really don't go that far, and we only stay overnight maybe one or two times. And that's the fun part. There's a lot of team bonding time."
Byers, who holds a 3.11 GPA and has made the Dean's List at Grace, is looking towards a career in teaching after she graduates in May. Over her college career, she has volunteered her time at Grace Village Retirement Home, Campus Life, Leesburg Elementary School, Kosciusko County Literacy, March of Dimes, Youth For Christ and the Cardinal Center. She is also a third grade tutor and a Tipkee Reading Council member.
"I don't know where I'm going to teach, but I'm looking for elementary positions. Hopefully, I'll be able to coach somewhere. I'd like to coach at higher levels, but I know you normally have to start lower. I'd really like to be a part of athletics no matter where I go, whether it's volleyball, basketball or track."
Byers and the Grace men's and women's track and field teams will compete at the NCCAA National Tournament Friday and Saturday at Indiana Wesleyan.
