Thompson earns second state title

Plains standout Jessica Thompson has managed to juggle playing multiple sports simultaneously since the age of four.

For Thompson, who was a dual-sport athlete for the Trotters, balancing softball and track schedules is nothing new for the junior standout.

“I’ve done this for a really long time,,” Thompson said. “I’ve done softball since I was like four and I’ve done track since I was in sixth grade. At one point, I played basketball, track and softball at the same time.”

After the Plains-Hot Springs softball team fell two runs short of advancing to state with a heart breaking 12-11 loss to Loyola-Sacred Heart, Thompson was freed up to focus specifically on track for the remainder of the school year.

Plains’ coach Denise Montgomery said she was “never worried” about Thompson juggling two sports because Thompson is just a special athlete that isn’t phased by such tasks.

“She is just so used to competing and she is pretty flexible,” Montgomery said. “She is just a very laid-back person and is able to compartmentalize meets and games and focus on what is happening at the moment.”

Regardless of whether Thompson was phased by the juggling act of balancing two sports is inconsequential to the results of focusing on only one. The junior can now add to her growing athletic resume and joins her sister Leah Thompson, a former Plains athlete who is a member of NCAA Division-I Brigham Young’s track team, as a two-time Class-C state champion in discus and shot put after winning Saturday afternoon at Laurel Sports Complex at Laurel High School.

Thompson captured the titles with a discus throw of 124 feet, 11 inches and a shot put throw of 38 feet, 6.50 inches.

Her sister Leah Thompson holds a school record and an all-class record in the discus with a throw of 154 feet, 11.5 inches.

“Jessica is a state champion and that is huge for her confidence to be able to reach her potential,” Montgomery said. “She might not have thrown where she wanted to throw but she still ended up at the top and that is a great honor. Not very many people can say they are an individual state champion.”

Headed into the state meet, Montgomery said she knew Thompson would be part of the conversation to be at the top of the podium.

“She really just started coming on the last few meets,” Montgomery said. “After they lost in softball, she started focusing on cleaning up some of the things that she needed to clean up (in discus and shot put). She was able to handle doing both sports and not everyone can handle doing both things.”

According to Thompson, one of the keys to her success in both shot put and discus was to simplify the pressure of the intensity of a state event.

“I didn’t really think about my throws too much, I guess,” Thompson admitted. “I was just trying to do the best I could.”

Thompson said she primarily focused on her mechanics at discus and shot put.

“The shot ring is really slippery and I was just hoping I didn’t fall on my face,” Thompson said. “In discus, I was just trying to make sure that my flight was correct.”

Thompson said excelling in shot put and discus just came “natural” to her since she started participating in them her freshman year.

“I am sort of like I am just built for it,” Thompson said. “I have improved a lot since my freshman year and I just really like always improving on my distances.”