Editor’s note: This is a regular feature profiling senior athletes at Bryant High School.
NAME: Leah Ward
PARENTS: Melissa Cousins and Jamie Cousins, and David Ward and Angela Ward
SIBLINGS: I have two brothers and a sister. My little brother, Ethan, goes to Arkansas Baptist. My older brother, Hunter, lives in Dallas. My little sister’s name is Ashley and she lives in New Mexico.
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Algebra
FAVORITE SPARE TIME ACTIVITY: I like to run and to cook and to shop and hang out with friends.
FAVORITE FOOD: Italian
FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST OR GROUP: Shakira
FAVORITE MOVIE: 500 Days of Summer
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Pretty Little Liars
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A KID? I had this guitar that you could push buttons and it played. It was like a fake electric guitar.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL? I plan to go to U of A and major in Bio-chem then got to Pharmacy at UAMS.
OTHER THAN YOUR PARENTS, WHO’S HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE? HOW? My friends; just to be a better person and enjoy life as much as I can.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT TRACK? The team; they’re just the best people I know, just awesome and encouraging, happy people.
EVENTS? I do the 4×100, 4×400, long jump and triple jump.
WHAT APPROACH DO YOU TAKE TO YOUR EVENTS? The jumps are really fun to me but I think the 4×400 is my favorite because relays are more fun than just a personal open event, I think, because you’re working as a team. There’s not as much pressure on you, even though there still is a lot. I just like them all. I love what I do.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SEASON SO FAR? We’ve done extremely well. I think we’ve done a lot better than our coaches expected from us and a lot better than some of the seniors expected. I didn’t know that we were going to do so well this year because we were losing so many good athletes but we have gained so many this year, too. A lot of people stepped up.
WHAT’S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SEASON SO FAR? Winning our home meet.
WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR THE TEAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT CONFERENCE AND STATE? Just everybody step up and do their job. I’m not going to make it to conference but I’m going to work really hard these next two weeks for State and see what I can do there.
TALK ABOUT YOUR EVENTS NOW; WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST ASSET? WHAT ARE YOU MOST CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITY TO DO? I think jumps. I’ve been doing them for a while. I did a little bit in eighth grade but mostly in ninth, 10th and 11th then this year. I’ve mastered my technique and really got my steps down and figured out all the tricks.
WHAT DO YOU WORK HARDEST IN PRACTICE TO IMPROVE ON? We work endurance and speed. I think endurance is what I have the most trouble with but I’ve really worked hard on that this year.
WHEN YOU’RE THROUGH RUNNING TRACK AT BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL LOOK BACK AND REMEMBER MOST FONDLY ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE? I think it’s going to be all the times we’ve won the meets and just celebrating afterwards, being around the team, my favorite people, and just enjoying that and basking in our great achievements.
