Mead 9th-Grader Throws Herself Into Competition

Mead Junior High ninth-grader Janelle Edington couldn’t help but be somewhat athletically ahead of and mentally tougher than most children her age.

Edington has participated in sports since the fifth grade. She comes from a tall athletic family.

Maybe more important than anything, Edington has two older brothers.

“Yeah, I definitely had to learn how to defend myself,” Edington said.

Participating in the girls division at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic National Championships recently in San Jose, Calif., Edington finished third in the javelin with a toss of 106 feet, 4 inches, and fourth in the discus at 102-11.

Both marks were personal bests for her.

She had qualified for nationals by winning the discus and finishing second in the javelin in the Washington-Oregon-Alaska regional meet in Seattle.

Not too bad for someone in just her second year of throwing the javelin and third year for the discus.

Maybe that’s where the genetics kick in.

Edington’s oldest brother, Ryan, who graduated from Mead High in 1983, threw both the javelin and discus. A member of Mead’s ‘93 track and field state championship team, Ryan will be entering his sophomore year at the University of Texas, where he also throws the javelin and discus.

Ryan, the oldest of three Edington children, is 6-foot-3. Jerod, who will be a senior at Mead this year, is also 6-foot-3.

Janelle, 14, is already 5-foot-9.

The three can thank their father, J.R., for the height. He’s 6-foot-4.

Their mother, Sherry Edington, stayed out of the way in the height department. She’s a relatively small 5-foot-5.

All of those things have worked to Janelle’s advantage, but they wouldn’t mean much if she weren’t working hard.

In addition to participating in track and field, Janelle is a middle blocker on Mead Junior High’s volleyball team and plays center on the school’s basketball team.

Oh, and she carries a 4.0 gradepoint average to boot.

Where does she find the time?

“Well, I do get pretty tired sometimes,” Janell said. “I like to have breaks once in a while.

“But I enjoy it all. I’m having fun with everything.”

With high school just around the corner, it might be just a matter of time before some of the neighborhood boys come knocking on the door to court the young athlete.

“Well,” she said, “then they’ll have to meet my older brothers.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo