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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
July 20, 2023     Shelton Mason County Journal
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July 20, 2023
 
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Page 16 Shelton—Mason County Journal — Thursday, July 20, 2023 Athlete: Henry finished sixth in javelin at 2A state meet continued from page 75 by over a foot and a half. “Liv definitely stepped it up when it counted,” Shelton track coach Doug Sells wrote in an email. “She showed tremendous focus at every big meet she was in.” Henry’s two previous best throws prior to the state meet came at the prestigious 63rd Shelton Invitational on April 29 and at the 2A District IV championships on May 19, meaning her three best throws came during the big- gest meets of the year against top—level competition. “Javelin is so repetitive because it’s just the same thing over and over again. You really have to concentrate on it. Like, you practice and have con- fidence in yourself. And when I was at those bigger meets, I was like, ‘I’m good enough to be here, so show that I’m good enough to be here.’ Itjust really gave me that inner confidence to just throw my best, trust all the practice I’ve put in and all of that. Itjust gave me confidence in myself to throw well.” Henry said that because neither Capital or Shelton had ajavelin—specific coach, she spent time watching You- Tube videos and watching Olympic throwers to learn technique. “It’s very hard to keep all of the pieces ( of a throw) together because if one thing goes wrong, then it will just tweak it completely,” Henry said. “You have to try and keep it as perfect as possible. It’s pretty meticulous on how to make sure the steps go together and how to keep it straight.” Henry was also the leading scorer for Shelton’s girls basketball team, av— eraging more than 10 points and four rebounds a game while splashing in 24 of the team’s 75 3-pointers. The Climb- ers won nine games after finishing the previous season without a win. “Liv is a great representation of our whole program this past season. Her skills and athletic abilities are en- hanced by her passion for teammates , and competition,” Shelton girls basket- ball coach Chris Swanson wrote in a text message. “She consistently stepped up to meet the high expectations we set and never hung her head when we did come up short. Liv is a great athlete, fun to be around, and will be missed!” Additionally, Henry was a season- long starter for Shelton’s volleyball team where her fiery left-side attacks kept the Climbers in the mix all season. “Liv is an inspiration and a great team player,” Shelton volleyball coach Emily Gott wrote in a text message. “She has a positive attitude and always wants to better herself as an athlete. She is an asset to the team especially on the net.” In a time where sport specialization has become the norm, Henry said she grew up playing multiple sports, but admitted that basketball is probably her favorite sport-to play. “I really enjoy basketball because of the team aspect,” Henry said. “It’s just like, it’sjust quicker pace, you don’t think as much as in track where it’s really mental, and it’s just kind of all on you. And so I really enjoy basketball a lot.” As a freshman, Henry played bas- ketball at Capital High School with her older sister, Raegen, under former Shelton High coach Tiffany Twiddy, the Cougars won the 3A South Sound Conference title. “I’ve played basketball my whole ’life,” Henry said. “My sister is in college playing basketball. I went to state my freshman year at Capital and I got to play varsity with her, and so that really helped expand my love for it. “Our parents actually poured a concrete slab with a basketball court. We have a full basketball court at our house. And every summer we go out and play. I have three other siblings. We play two—on-two basketball every day, and we just go against each other and my cousin, Gabriel Conklin, who’s at the high school right now, we’d go to his house and we’d play with him and Mason Goos. We’d all play against each other every summer we just grew up playing against each other. It did get competitive sometimes, but it just all made us all better.” Henry said she grew up playing vol- leyball with her best friend, but felt like Capital’s program was toxic after her freshman year and didn’t play again until transferring to Shelton. Likewise, her path to track came from friends who were pole vaulters. They invited her to start going in sixth grade and she fell in love with compet- ing in track. “When I was really little, probably like kindergarten, (my parents) put us in rec league basketball and rec league softball,” Henry said. “I’ve just kind of been around it my whole life. My broth— ers both play football and baseball and track and all that. It’s just kind of like in our family, wejust all do sports to keep busy and doing something. It’s just kind of been like the culture I grew up in.” ' Henry said she almost gave up bas- ketball after her last season at Capital, but coming to Shelton and knowing girls basketball coach Chris Swan- son, who took over the team this year, from summer league basketball helped change her mind. “Coming in and seeing Chris on the first day and how welcoming he was,” Henry said. “He gave me a lot of play- ing time, he encouraged me and helped me with some of my mental aspects that I was going through at that time. We almost beat Tumwater in our first league game, which is unheard of be- cause they beat them by like 70 last year, and just being able to see the progress the team has made. We almost made it to the playoffs this year. After not winning a game for a few years and then almost going to playoffs this year, it was just it was a great experience to be a part of.” Henry received a one-year medical assistant program scholarship from Mason Health after graduating from Shelton High School’s Heath Sciences Academy, but she hopes to continue her athletic career once she goes to school to become a nurse’s assistant. “1 think I’m going to walk-on at whatever school I go to for track,” Hen- ry said. “I just want to try and walk on at a school and seehow that goes. Be- cause I’m not quite done. I want to keep playing, but this opportunity was so good. And it was going to pay for a lot of my school, so I couldn’t pass it up.” "’17 I"