SE: Shardia Lawrence’s Climb from the Valley to NCAA Triple Jump Champion
Jun 14, 2019 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Shardia Lawrence has cried a lot lately.
Her tears fell after she won an NCAA Outdoor Championship in the triple jump on her last attempt ever in a K-State uniform last Saturday in Austin, Texas. They fell for the joy this moment brought, unlike nine months ago when she said she was going through an episode of depression.
They're still falling for the gratefulness in her heart, both for the failures she encountered and the people who believed in her despite them.
"Gratefulness beyond this Earth," Lawrence said. "Right now, I just feel like crying because these people…they cry with me when I succeed because they know what I've been through, and I'm just grateful that God placed them in my life. They know where I'm coming from, and we shared this journey together."
That's what ran through Lawrence's mind as she stood on the runway last Saturday, in third place, with one jump left, the last jump of any competitor, after already setting a new career-best twice that day.
"The first thing I was (thinking of) was the hard work I put in," she said, "and everything that happened (before), like the failure."
***
Last August, Lawrence felt like a failure. So, she got a cat and named him, Luke.
This decision came after the Jamaican's disappointing showing at her country's national meet. It followed a second-straight upsetting performance at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she finished 18th.
The year before, she entered the NCAA's outdoor meet with the fourth-best jump in the country. She left with a 23rd-place finish, beating only one athlete whom scratched on her first three attempts.
Plus, Lawrence's twin sister, Shadae, transferred from K-State to Colorado State for her final season in the discus. It would be the first time ever the two would be apart for this amount of time.
Lawrence's outing at the Jamaica Senior Championships was one more letdown than she could handle.
"That's where all the depression built up from," Lawrence said.
So, she got a cat.
"That responsibility changed everything," she said. "I got something to take care of and love, and it's always there. It's like a human being to me. I love him. He really helped me out a lot, gave me so much comfort, sleeps with me, so I think he kind of helped me to fill in the gap for Shadae."
Lawrence's mother, Arlene, also spent a month in Manhattan to help her daughter adjust. The two jogged together, went to church and just hung out. Lawrence savored some Jamaican cuisine during this time, along with the unending amount of confidence her mother holds in her.
"She was part of the mission," Lawrence said. "She thought it was destined. She believed I was going to do it. She helped me overcome everything…just the love of a mother."
Shadae also visited Manhattan when she could and kept pushing her sister from afar. The day before Lawrence jumped at the NCAA Championships last week, Shadae changed her sister's Facebook profile name to "Shardia 'NCAA Champ' Lawrence," a social media prophecy of sorts.
"The distance strengthened our bond. She always believed in me," Lawrence said. "At first, (her being gone) was though because I needed someone to be there, but then she told me, 'You know you have Coach Johnson as family.'"
***
K-State assistant coach Vincent Johnson first saw Lawrence jump at a meet in Jamaica more than five years ago. She was not one of the "big dogs" there, Johnson said, only reaching about 12.40 meters — a mark he said some Power Five coaches would have used to cross her off their list.
But Johnson saw something different.
"She hit the ground well, but I thought she was raw. I thought if I could get her to believe in the plan that I put together for her, then maybe it could be something," he said. "And she was happy. I really liked her attitude while she was competing. That's huge because, I think, when you can have a great attitude, you're halfway there. Because, ultimately, your attitude can affect your altitude."
With this in mind, and several other high-level options to recruit at that meet, Johnson decided Lawrence was the one he wanted.
"From then on, we connected well," Lawrence said, "and he acted like a father that I didn't really have."
More than five years down the road, Lawrence broke down crying when asked about Johnson's impact on her life. The rush of emotions stemmed from his role in the journey she faced to get here.
Years before Lawrence pulled off one of the most clutch triple jumps in NCAA Championship history, with a mark of 13.99m/45-10.75 to win by six centimeters and erase a 20-year-old K-State record in the process, Johnson believed in her.
"He was the first person from K-State, the first person, overall, the first collegiate coach to approach me," Lawrence said. "Other coaches approached me, but he contacted me every day, spoke to me, telling me I'm going to be a champion. He played a role much more than a coach."
When she took the SAT over and over, failing to get a qualifying score for K-State each time, Johnson "kept the faith" she would reach it the next time. Eventually, on what she said was her last attempt at the SAT, regardless of score, she got what she needed. Johnson delivered the news.
"She dropped her phone and cried. I was still on the phone," Johnson recalled. "I had multiple opportunities to recruit somebody else, but because she was willing to believe in me, I was going to help her. That was another moment of gratification for us because it was one barrier after another, but we were going to keep climbing."
Her first semester at K-State, Lawrence underwent knee surgery. It would not be the last issue she had with that knee. Still, her events coach would never let her stay down about it, or anything, for long.
"He was there for everything," she said. "I didn't know I could reach this point. It was difficult to believe that I could do it, but he restored my confidence at all times. He knew it. He just knew I had to be mentally tough, and he did everything he could. He invited me into his family. Mrs. Johnson and (their children) accepted me like I'm their daughter and big sister."
Added Johnson: "That's my child."
***
Through the setbacks and the failures, in the valleys and the darkness, Lawrence figured out who the positive people in her life were. They were the ones still encouraging her, not the ones inviting her to parties or questioning Johnson's coaching when her results faltered.
These positive people, she said, became her "circle of influence."
Lawrence's mother helped her regain her faith. Lawrence started reading her bible every morning and doing a devotional every night. She watched motivational Christian videos frequently online.
"That's what I'd get up every day with, fill my mind with so I didn't think negative," Lawrence said. "Even when I was thinking negative, I'd go right away and pray."
Shadae, an NCAA champion in the discus in 2017, taught her to be more persistent and to use any failure as fuel.
"She taught me how to be mentally tough," Lawrence said. "Before, I used to quit, but now I had the drive, the motivation to continue."
Erik Kynard, Jr., a world class high jumper and two-time NCAA champion with K-State, provided some advice for eating healthier to give her another edge.
"He shared the journey with me as well," Lawrence said of Kynard, who told her "I believe your victory was greater" than any of his.
Johnson, she said, was her steady rock. It's why she ran to him after her final jump last week. When she found her coach, the two shared an emotional embrace on the track, a celebration of perseverance as much as victory.
"It was a special moment because I was part of the valley and not just the mountain," Johnson said. "To see it come full circle and reap the benefits of the labor from this six-year long journey is special because she had an opportunity to fold but she didn't. And it wasn't given to her. She had to take it."
Before her last jump, Lawrence took all of this in. She played through her journey in her mind. She remembered all the people who believed in her through it all. How, in this defining moment, could she not believe, too?
"It was something I had to do. I had to fail in order to win," she said. "I'm just elated that they were there with me, and we can share the trophy together."
Shardia Lawrence has cried a lot lately.
Her tears fell after she won an NCAA Outdoor Championship in the triple jump on her last attempt ever in a K-State uniform last Saturday in Austin, Texas. They fell for the joy this moment brought, unlike nine months ago when she said she was going through an episode of depression.
They're still falling for the gratefulness in her heart, both for the failures she encountered and the people who believed in her despite them.
"Gratefulness beyond this Earth," Lawrence said. "Right now, I just feel like crying because these people…they cry with me when I succeed because they know what I've been through, and I'm just grateful that God placed them in my life. They know where I'm coming from, and we shared this journey together."
That's what ran through Lawrence's mind as she stood on the runway last Saturday, in third place, with one jump left, the last jump of any competitor, after already setting a new career-best twice that day.
"The first thing I was (thinking of) was the hard work I put in," she said, "and everything that happened (before), like the failure."
One moment. A lifetime of memories. #KStateTF | @NCAATrackField pic.twitter.com/yz4w2kV4H9
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) June 9, 2019
***
Last August, Lawrence felt like a failure. So, she got a cat and named him, Luke.
This decision came after the Jamaican's disappointing showing at her country's national meet. It followed a second-straight upsetting performance at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she finished 18th.
The year before, she entered the NCAA's outdoor meet with the fourth-best jump in the country. She left with a 23rd-place finish, beating only one athlete whom scratched on her first three attempts.
Plus, Lawrence's twin sister, Shadae, transferred from K-State to Colorado State for her final season in the discus. It would be the first time ever the two would be apart for this amount of time.
Lawrence's outing at the Jamaica Senior Championships was one more letdown than she could handle.
"That's where all the depression built up from," Lawrence said.
So, she got a cat.
"That responsibility changed everything," she said. "I got something to take care of and love, and it's always there. It's like a human being to me. I love him. He really helped me out a lot, gave me so much comfort, sleeps with me, so I think he kind of helped me to fill in the gap for Shadae."
Lawrence's mother, Arlene, also spent a month in Manhattan to help her daughter adjust. The two jogged together, went to church and just hung out. Lawrence savored some Jamaican cuisine during this time, along with the unending amount of confidence her mother holds in her.
"She was part of the mission," Lawrence said. "She thought it was destined. She believed I was going to do it. She helped me overcome everything…just the love of a mother."
Shadae also visited Manhattan when she could and kept pushing her sister from afar. The day before Lawrence jumped at the NCAA Championships last week, Shadae changed her sister's Facebook profile name to "Shardia 'NCAA Champ' Lawrence," a social media prophecy of sorts.
"The distance strengthened our bond. She always believed in me," Lawrence said. "At first, (her being gone) was though because I needed someone to be there, but then she told me, 'You know you have Coach Johnson as family.'"
***
K-State assistant coach Vincent Johnson first saw Lawrence jump at a meet in Jamaica more than five years ago. She was not one of the "big dogs" there, Johnson said, only reaching about 12.40 meters — a mark he said some Power Five coaches would have used to cross her off their list.
But Johnson saw something different.
"She hit the ground well, but I thought she was raw. I thought if I could get her to believe in the plan that I put together for her, then maybe it could be something," he said. "And she was happy. I really liked her attitude while she was competing. That's huge because, I think, when you can have a great attitude, you're halfway there. Because, ultimately, your attitude can affect your altitude."
With this in mind, and several other high-level options to recruit at that meet, Johnson decided Lawrence was the one he wanted.
"From then on, we connected well," Lawrence said, "and he acted like a father that I didn't really have."
More than five years down the road, Lawrence broke down crying when asked about Johnson's impact on her life. The rush of emotions stemmed from his role in the journey she faced to get here.
Years before Lawrence pulled off one of the most clutch triple jumps in NCAA Championship history, with a mark of 13.99m/45-10.75 to win by six centimeters and erase a 20-year-old K-State record in the process, Johnson believed in her.
"He was the first person from K-State, the first person, overall, the first collegiate coach to approach me," Lawrence said. "Other coaches approached me, but he contacted me every day, spoke to me, telling me I'm going to be a champion. He played a role much more than a coach."
When she took the SAT over and over, failing to get a qualifying score for K-State each time, Johnson "kept the faith" she would reach it the next time. Eventually, on what she said was her last attempt at the SAT, regardless of score, she got what she needed. Johnson delivered the news.
"She dropped her phone and cried. I was still on the phone," Johnson recalled. "I had multiple opportunities to recruit somebody else, but because she was willing to believe in me, I was going to help her. That was another moment of gratification for us because it was one barrier after another, but we were going to keep climbing."
Her first semester at K-State, Lawrence underwent knee surgery. It would not be the last issue she had with that knee. Still, her events coach would never let her stay down about it, or anything, for long.
"He was there for everything," she said. "I didn't know I could reach this point. It was difficult to believe that I could do it, but he restored my confidence at all times. He knew it. He just knew I had to be mentally tough, and he did everything he could. He invited me into his family. Mrs. Johnson and (their children) accepted me like I'm their daughter and big sister."
Added Johnson: "That's my child."
***
Through the setbacks and the failures, in the valleys and the darkness, Lawrence figured out who the positive people in her life were. They were the ones still encouraging her, not the ones inviting her to parties or questioning Johnson's coaching when her results faltered.
These positive people, she said, became her "circle of influence."
Lawrence's mother helped her regain her faith. Lawrence started reading her bible every morning and doing a devotional every night. She watched motivational Christian videos frequently online.
"That's what I'd get up every day with, fill my mind with so I didn't think negative," Lawrence said. "Even when I was thinking negative, I'd go right away and pray."
Shadae, an NCAA champion in the discus in 2017, taught her to be more persistent and to use any failure as fuel.
"She taught me how to be mentally tough," Lawrence said. "Before, I used to quit, but now I had the drive, the motivation to continue."
Erik Kynard, Jr., a world class high jumper and two-time NCAA champion with K-State, provided some advice for eating healthier to give her another edge.
"He shared the journey with me as well," Lawrence said of Kynard, who told her "I believe your victory was greater" than any of his.
Johnson, she said, was her steady rock. It's why she ran to him after her final jump last week. When she found her coach, the two shared an emotional embrace on the track, a celebration of perseverance as much as victory.
"It was a special moment because I was part of the valley and not just the mountain," Johnson said. "To see it come full circle and reap the benefits of the labor from this six-year long journey is special because she had an opportunity to fold but she didn't. And it wasn't given to her. She had to take it."
Before her last jump, Lawrence took all of this in. She played through her journey in her mind. She remembered all the people who believed in her through it all. How, in this defining moment, could she not believe, too?
"It was something I had to do. I had to fail in order to win," she said. "I'm just elated that they were there with me, and we can share the trophy together."
??? Run that back ??
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) June 9, 2019
School Record. @NCAATrackField Winning Jump. Last Career #KStateTF jump for Shardia Lawrence pic.twitter.com/p1mjW3GMFr
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