GIRLS BRIDGET BALLARD SENIOR, HARVARD-WESTLAKE.Byline: STORIES BY ERIK BOAL SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS Most high school athletes play to win a league or section championship once in their career. Bridget Ballard probably lost count of her total long before her senior year. That didn't stop the Harvard-Westlake standout from excelling in all four of her sports during her final go-round on the Studio City campus. At a school that has produced NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= players, NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association champions and Olympic medalists An Olympic medalist is the winner of a medal in one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal: gold, silver and bronze. Some countries, besides supporting all their Olympic athletes, pay sums of money and gifts to medal winners depending on the classes and number of , Ballard's accomplishments in cross country, soccer, swimming and the high jump are looked upon with the same level of admiration and respect. Her swim coach, Darlene Bible, mentions her in the same breath as four-time Olympic swimmer Dara Torres Dara Grace Torres (born April 15, 1967, in Los Angeles, California) is an American swimmer. She was the second swimmer from her country (after Jill Sterkel) to compete in four Olympics: 1984, 1988, 1992, and 2000. . Audrius Barzdukas, the school's director of athletics, has called her a ``modern-day Babe Didrikson Zaharias.'' And softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' coach Terry Elledge was ready to offer her a varsity roster spot after watching her throw the ball around for only a few minutes one afternoon. Unfortunately for Elledge, Ballard already competed in two sports during the spring. It is her combination of natural talent, hard work and endless versatility that earned Ballard the honor of being the Daily News' Girls' Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year
``She's really, really extraordinary,'' Bible said. ``She's just a special kid, who's really something else.'' During her career, Ballard -- who will play soccer at Brown -- won at least one Mission League individual and team title in all four sports. In cross country, soccer and swimming, she contributed to team championships all four years. ``The coaches that have worked with me have been a big reason why I'm able to do it,'' Ballard said. ``Coach Bible has been amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. . The soccer team has been great. The soccer coaches who have allowed me to come out late after cross country. They've all played a part.'' Ballard still considers winning the Southern Section Div. IV cross country title as a freshman as her proudest accomplishment. But her senior year was nothing short of exceptional. In the fall, she won her first individual league cross country title on her way to finishing ninth in the Southern Section and 10th in the state in the division. During the winter, she led the Wolverines to a fifth consecutive league soccer title and their first trip to the Div. I final, before losing to Upland. Despite the loss, Ballard -- the league's MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. -- still shared division player of the year honors with Upland's under-17 national team standout, Lauren Barnes. This spring, Ballard captured her first individual league swimming title, holding off UCLA-bound teammate Katie Wong in the 50-yard freestyle The code name for the MCE version of Windows. See Media Center Edition. . She also contributed to a victory in the 200 medley med·ley n. pl. med·leys 1. An often jumbled assortment; a mixture: "That night he dreamed he was traveling in a foreign country, only it seemed to be a medley of all the countries he'd ever been to and relay. At the Div. I finals, she helped Harvard-Westlake finish 10th, contributing to the Wolverines' fourth-place 200 medley relay and seventh-place 200 freestyle relay, along with finishing among the top 16 in the 50 free and 100 backstroke. In between her exploits in the pool, Ballard also found a way to get enough high jump practice in to record a personal-best 5 feet, 4 inches on her way to taking second at the league finals behind Louisville of Woodland Hills' Camilla Dencer, who went on to finish second at the state championships. ``She practiced once before (a dual meet against) Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame and then a couple of more times before league,'' Bible said. ``She's just an amazing athlete.'' Ballard's achievements were rewarded when she received the school's Schumacher (top multi-sport athlete) and Carlson (top female athlete) awards this year, becoming one of the few Harvard-Westlake athletes to be honored in both categories. ``I would consider myself very lucky,'' Ballard said. ``I don't think there's any more I can ask for.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Harvard-Westlake's Bridget Ballard contributed to a league title in the 200-yard medley relay and won the 50 freestyle. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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