Who Is the Woman of Troy who Dominates on the Field and the Track?

Article by Gabby Skopec, Photos by Alexis G, Multimedia By Katie Fuhrmeister.

For most students, a typical day consists of; waking up, going to school, maybe an after school activity, and going home. For Tia Saunders ‘16 a typical day during the spring sport season consists of; waking up, going to school, doing the workout for track, and then going to soccer practice. Even though she rarely has time for other things, she has no regrets,

“I’m happy with what I’ve decided, I just don’t think about it so it doesn’t bother me,” she said.

At the beginning of the spring sport season Saunders had to talk to both coaches to figure out how she would balance her time, and they were able to work out a schedule. However, not having her available can be challenging for both her and the coaches,

“It’s hard because she’s a leader, so when she’s not there somebody else has to step in,” said girls track and field assistant coach Peggy McGuire. “I’m glad that we could come to an agreement with soccer so we can both benefit from Tia,”

Being involved in both of the sports has formed her into a very dedicated athlete, but she still has to balance sports with school.

“I do homework whenever I get a chance, but I usually always end up staying up late. If I don’t finish it then, then I do it during my study hall, but I’m always doing sports so it can be difficult,”

Balancing all of this is difficult, but through sports she has learned how to work hard and be tough. Eventually all her hard work pays off when she gets a new personal best time, or wins a game.

“Last year during [soccer] regionals I scored the only goal of the game, and we won and moved on; I felt great after that,” Saunders said.

Games like that were not by chance, she has been involved in sports since the age of three, and currently practices everyday except Sunday.

“[My family] drives me, makes me eat right, and be smart about what I’m doing and how to manage my time,” Saunders said.

Even though her family is very supportive of her, she often has to give up family and friend time to go to practice, a game, or a meet.

“It is hard to make plans with Tia because her parents always have her doing something or she is doing something for school sports, she also does a lot of outside sports,” said Bryanna Elder ‘16, a close friend of Saunders.

But Saunders stays motivated throughout the social setbacks and physical setbacks such as a sprained ankle, and mild concussion. She says she is motivated by goals such as winning a team state championship, an individual state championship, and going to college for a sport. And with unofficial personal best times of 58 for the 400 meters, and 24 for the 200 meters, she is within the same second of the school records in both of the events. Her drive to continue to improve is what makes her so good.

“At regionals last year we were running the 4×4 and she chased someone down, she didn’t actually win, but it was by a hair; that was the exciting part,” McGuire said.

Slideshow of Tia below. Compiled by Katie Fuhrmeister.

Video of Tia below. Compiled by Alexis G.