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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
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