Student-Athlete Excels in Two Sports

For Immediate Release:
May 1, 2007

Starr Gary sprints to a season-best time of 12.38 seconds in the 100-meter dash at the Indiana Intercollegiate Championships on April 13.

RICHMOND, Ind. — Starr Gary finds Earlham College compatible with her desire to succeed as a student and to participate in more than one sport.

Given the opportunity to compete in basketball and track, the transfer student from Indianapolis has excelled. Her first year at Earlham concludes with the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships this Thursday and Friday, May 3-4.

The Northwest High School graduate enters the meet with the second-best individual times among conference competitors in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. She posted a time of 12.38 seconds in the 100 meters at the Indiana Intercollegiate Championships on April 13, and a time of 25.67 seconds at the Anderson Invitational on March 31.

Gary also is expected to anchor the 400-meter relay team that has recorded the NCAC's top time this spring — 50.41 seconds at Anderson.

"I want to push myself and place in all of my events," the biology student said. "I've been striving to improve each meet in preparing to run at conference."

Two All-Conference Teams Just Days Apart

Not intimidated by taller foes, Starr Gary drives to the basket against Wittenberg University at Schuckman Court on Feb. 7.

Gary started in 21 of 26 games for the 2006-07 Earlham women's basketball squad. The 5-foot-6 forward averaged 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. She received honorable mention to the All-NCAC Team from the conference's coaches.

"Besides her obvious athleticism, Starr's strengths include her mental toughness and determination," said Earlham Head Women's Basketball Coach Liana Coutts. "Her versatility allowed us to play her at the post."

Gary's first track meet as an Earlham student was the NCAC Indoor Championships on March 2-3. That was just days after finishing the basketball season.

"I wasn't expecting to do that well because of practicing for just a week," she said. "I was just trying to compete."

Gary finished second in both the 55- and 200-meter dashes with times of 7.38 and 26.36 seconds, respectively, and earned All-NCAC honors as a top-three finisher. "It would have been nice to win, but I thought I did pretty well," she said.

"I was not surprised at all, but the other members of our team were shocked at how athletic she was," Johnson said. "I knew how good Starr could be when she was in high school, and that she would be something special at the Division III level."

Gary's first collegiate experience was at a Division I university. The grind of track at that level and the desire to play basketball led her to transfer to Earlham in 2006. "I needed a place to start over," said Gary. "I like the smaller classes here, and I want to enter the medical field after graduation."

"I love Earlham," she said. "The community is so friendly. It's hard to stay down emotionally even if you're having a difficult day because there are so many people who care about you and how you're doing academically and athletically. It's easy to keep a smile on my face."

— EC —

Contact:
Don Tincher, sports information director
765/983-1795 — E-Mail Don

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This page last updated: May 5, 2007