Give her an A!
JuliAnne Chisholm, the Hillsboro High School athlete with a capital "A" in the middle of her name, has once again been recognized for her Athletic Achievements and Abilities. After being named to the first team All-state basketball team this week in the state's two biggest newspapers, we think there might be room for more A's to be added to Chisholm's list of accolades, including "the best All-Around high school Athlete in the state of Kansas."
Is JuliAnne really that good an athlete?
Does she deserve that much praise?
We say, Absolutely, add another A!
The article on page one of this edition describes how Chisholm wowed sports writers and coaches at the state tournament, leading the Trojans to their first state title in 11 years, garnering a spot on the state's top five roster in both the Wichita Eagle, and the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Those who've lived in the Hillsboro area for awhile know that JuliAnne is the last in a long line of blue-chip athletes to come from the Chisholm family farm, near Lehigh.
It boggles the mind to think about all that talent playing games together in the same yard. You might think that JuliAnne turned out so well because that's how you'd expect the youngest in a family like that to turn out, anyway.
But what sets JuliAnne Apart (which adds another A) from others is that she certainly could have simply taken her genetics and birth order for granted, and been satisfied to become a better athlete than her brothers and sisters as a matter of course.
But then, that "A" factor kicked in. Somewhere along the way, she decided to approach athletics as if she'd had none of these advantages. Instead, she went at sports as if her success depended entirely upon her own effort and dedication, which is to say, she did it the old-fashioned way. By dent of will, sweat of brow, pound of flesh, brick by brick, she built herself into more than anything she'd been given. She climbed her own Everest, swam her own English Channel, and now, she has earned her rightful place among the great, yes, great athletes in Kansas high school history.
And for that, she deserves our Admiration and Applause. Hillsboro girls' basketball coach Dale Honeck says no athlete he's ever coached, high school or college, ever trained harder, practiced with more intensity, or competed better than Chisholm, which is high praise.
But basketball is a team sport and Honeck knows that no single athlete can win a state championship by herself, no matter how good she is. Honeck is quick to say that, unlike so many self-centered superstars, Chisholm helped make her teammates better. So, give her another A, for having a great Attitude.
Next Wednesday, March 28, the entire community is invited to attend a celebration and tribute to the state championship Lady Trojans, and we look forward to seeing many of you there.
As we stand and cheer the entire team, we might smack our hands together a little harder when JuliAnne is introduced.
If you have children, bring them along, and when Chisholm is introduced, point her out to them, and say, "Look! There's JuliAnne Chisholm, the All-state basketball player, All-state volleyball player, state champion high jumper, and class valedictorian! She makes straight-As. If you work hard and dedicate yourself as completely as she did in whatever you choose to do, then you can became all God intended for you to be someday, too."
On top of all of JuliAnne's A's, we'll add two more: No matter how old we are, JuliAnne Chisholm has Attributes to which everyone of us, each in our own way, can Aspire.
— GRANT OVERSTAKE
