Blair stars bring fire to the field

Zooming down the track at top speed, senior Rebecca duRivage-Jacobs can't hear anything around her. She isn't thinking about college or her recent 18th birthday or her math test next week. All she can focus on is the sandpit only a few strides away. And as duRivage-Jacobs calculates a smooth takeoff, leading to a very powerful long jump, the only thing on her mind is how she can make it better next time.

For the past two years, duRivage-Jacobs has played a significant role on the girls' spring track team. After placing second in the Magruder High School Relay on Mar 23 in the long jump and triple jump events, she is now anticipating a successful spring season and hoping for an equally successful future in collegiate sports.

Although she has only been a part of the team since her junior year, duRivage-Jacobs has become a major asset to the squad, as both a long jumper and a triple jumper. In the AAU National competition last summer, duRivage-Jacobs placed 16th in the long jump and 17th in the triple jump. She won her division last spring and was the runner-up in States for the triple jump. DuRivage-Jacobs also came in fifth place with the 4x1 relay team in States last year.

A gymnast since she was five, duRivage-Jacobs was on a highly competitive level until the summer before she entered eighth grade. She decided to retire from gymnastics in order to concentrate on other aspects of her life. "I still go to the gym and take classes; I'm even choreographing for the Blair gymnastics team. I think that gymnastics will always be a part of me, but I am much happier now that I am not on such a competitive level," she says.

Retiring from the gym left a lot of time open for duRivage-Jacobs. She began diving in her junior year and quickly became the number-one diver on the Blair team. "Diving was an obvious choice for me because it is so closely related to gymnastics," she says.

According to track coach James Short, duRivage-Jacobs has excelled in her events because of her natural ability and determination. "Most of it is her talent. But when all that is said and done, she is incredibly driven," he says. "She is her own worst critic, and a person with that kind of drive to always do better has a great chance of succeeding."

DuRivage-Jacobs has big plans for her athletic future. Currently, she is looking at several Division I schools, including the University of Pittsburgh and Louisiana State University, where she would be able to make the track team as a walk-on member.