Former Huntington HS athlete reminisces on days wearing green & white
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio —聽Starting with her impact during her rookie season and continuing through the next four years, Huntington High School’s Courtney Jenkins (Class of 2006) has a resume that would rival any three-sport athlete in the history of the Scioto Valley Conference. Jenkins, a 2006 graduate of Huntington High School, had a huge impact on volleyball, basketball, and track while wearing the Green & White.
As a freshman, she was an All-League volleyball player, a member of the girls鈥� basketball team that made it to the state championship game, and the meet medalist at three different invites during the spring. As a sophomore, she was an All-League and All-District performer in volleyball, made the All-Chillicothe Gazette Team in basketball, and in track, won the League and District titles in both hurdle events. She set the school record in the 300 Meter Hurdles and qualified for the OHSAA Track & Field State Meet.
As impressive as the first half of her high school playing days were, the second half of her career went to a completely different level. As a junior, Jenkins was an All-League and All-District volleyball and basketball player, and she was named the District 14 Player of the Year in volleyball. As a senior, she was once again All-League and All-District in volleyball while earning All-Ohio honors as well. She was selected to play in the State All-Star Match. For basketball, she earned All-League and All-District honors, and in the spring, Jenkins finished with an impressive last run on the track. Jenkins won the league in long jump while winning the Meet Medalist (track鈥檚 version of the SVC Player of the Year). She broke her own school record in the 300 Meter Hurdles, and in the postseason, she helped her team to a Regional championship and advanced individually to the State in three events.
After high school, Jenkins had more than enough opportunities to pursue multiple athletic paths, but she decided to end her playing days and focus more on her academics. Jenkins attended The Ohio State University and earned a BS in Biology. She currently works as a Research Scientist with a specialty in Safety Pharmacology while working for Charles River Laboratories. She has a great love for family and for her pets, as she mentioned how much she loves being an aunt and spending time with her dog and three cats.
It was great to see Courtney doing so well in her career, but it was also fun to reminisce about her playing days.
鈥淲ow! That鈥檚 a tough one for me to answer,鈥� said Courtney, when asked to recall what she remembered the most about her playing days. 鈥淚 have so many memories from playing sports year-round throughout high school that I will forever cherish. I think to adequately answer this question is for me to say this: I remember the feeling of putting on those uniforms and stepping onto the court or field. Those uniforms symbolized more than just me as an athlete and the high school I represented. They symbolized the weekend workouts, the evening second practices, the coaches that never said no when I asked for 10 more minutes, the amazing support system I had who saw not only my tears of joy but also my tears of frustration. Putting on those uniforms wasn鈥檛 as much for me as it was for every single person from family and friends to teammates and coaches who invested their time in helping me succeed. I really could not have done it alone, and I鈥檒l be forever grateful.鈥�
The passion she competed with is the same passion in which she approaches her career. As we continued to talk, I think this is why she believes in what sports can offer in today鈥檚 education.
鈥淭here is so much more to sports than just winning and losing,鈥� said Courtney, as our conversation turned to the importance of sports in the lives of young people. 鈥淚 think the life skill that I developed from playing sports that has translated well into my everyday life is accountability. Your teammates count on you to show up and give it your all at each practice and during each game. Life outside of sports is no different. Whether there are certain expectations to be met at your job or a promise to be at a certain place at a certain time, someone is counting on you to hold up your end of the deal. Playing sports is a great way for young people to surround themselves with others who share similar values, expectations, and push you to be a better you.鈥�
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