FAYETTEVILLE — Olivia Thomas stays plenty busy on the track for the Fayetteville Lady Bulldogs.
But Thomas makes no bones about it when asked what her first love is in the sport.
Profile
Olivia Thomas
School: Fayetteville
Class: Junior
Events: High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles.
Notable: Won the high jump event at the Springdale Relays on March 13 with a career best 5-foot-6 jump. .. Also won high jump competition at Bentonville Tiger Relays and finished second at Whitey Smith Relay Carnival and at Fayetteville Bulldog Relays, where she jumped 5-4. .. Season best triple-jump of 35-feet, 5-inches earned Thomas runner-up at Springdale Relays. .. Also has a long jump of 16 feet, 7.25 inches this season at the Russellville Cyclone Relays.
"High jump is definitely my thing," Thomas said. "I really like the high jump and I like doing all the jumps, like the long jump and the triple.
"But high jump is my thing."
Thomas, a junior at Fayetteville, hoped to be a top contributor for the Lady Bulldogs during the outdoor season as a sophomore. And while she did have her moments, winning the high jump event at the Springdale Invitational last year and earning top honors in the high jump at last season's Fayetteville Bulldog Relays, she expected even more this spring.
And so far, Thomas has delivered. As Fayetteville's top high jumper, triple jumper and long jumper, she is counted on in a big way to pile up points for a team battling youth and inexperience in many other key areas.
"This year Olivia is really determined to do well," Fayetteville track coach Drew Yoakum said. "Last year she kind of felt her way through everything. But this year she's really taken everything to the next level."
Thomas wasted no time setting a high standard for herself this outdoor season in the high jump with a career-best 5-foot-6 performance at the Springdale Relays on March 13th. "It does kind of put pressure on me because now people look at me and expect me to go out there and jump 5-foot-6 again," Thomas said. "But I expect that from myself. So it does push and when I don't jump that well I'm disappointed."
Thomas has yet to match her first 5-6 jump of the season, but still remains one of the top high jumpers in Northwest Arkansas. Along with her win at Springdale came another win at the Bentonville Tiger Relays on March 20, a runner-up at the Whitey Smith Relay Carnival on April 1 and another second place at Friday's Fayetteville Bulldog Relays.
"I know I can do (5-feet-6) again," Thomas said. "I expect that out of myself and even better. So I know I'll get back to that."
High jump might be Thomas' specialty, but it's not her only successful field event. She's also long jumped 16-feet, 7.25 inches this season and has a season-best triple jump of 35 feet, 5 inches.
"High jumping has always been her big thing and that's what she did at the Meet of Champs last year," Yoakum said. "But she's one that did the heptathlon for us and she certainly has the ability to improve in that this year.
"Her speed is what we're working on right now and we'll hopefully be able to keep building and improving on that."
Thomas also competes in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, events to help with her speed and conditioning to go along with her jumps events. Overall it's a busy workload for the junior but one that's necessary to help a young Fayetteville team come along.
"I think we're a team that has a lot of potential," Thomas said. "A lot of our younger ones, I feel like next year when we get help from these younger ones we'll be really good."
Sports on 04/14/2014