Hershey freshman Mya Christopher is a bit shy. It took a gentle nudge from her jumping coach just to accept an interview with a reporter.
Christopher's confidence on the track is a work in progress. She still questions her capabilities in the 800, a relatively new event for her.
But Christopher is also tremendously talented. Chances are we'll be hearing her name plenty of times over the next four years.
She better get used to those reporters.
Christopher began her outdoor track and field career in a big way, claiming two gold medals at Saturday's 9th Annual Tim Cook Invitational, held at Chambersburg.
Christopher started her day by assisting the Trojans' 4x800 squad to a record-breaking time of 9:47.32 before jogging over to the long jump and winning that event with a leap of 16-0.
"It feels amazing," Christopher said. "I was hoping for one gold medal, but I'm really proud to have two."
Christopher was the lead leg for the 4x800 squad, which also included Taylor Mortensen, Megan Ingalls and Rachel Groves.
Not entirely sure how to run the race, Christopher took the advice of her coaching staff.
"Coach told me to drag around and let them pull me for the first 500," Christopher said. "After that, I give everything I have for the last 300."
Christopher made good on her end of the deal and the rest of her team finished the job, finishing more than 11 seconds ahead of runner-up Lewisburg (9:58.59). More importantly, Hershey annihilated Chambersburg's 2007 meet record of 9:54.9.
It was a surprising performance, considering the Trojans entered the invitational seeded with a time of 10:05.
"It was really exciting. I'm proud of my teammates," Christopher said. "We ran the best we could."
Shortly after winning her first career gold medal in outdoor track, Christopher followed it up with her second, leaping a personal-best 16-0 in the long jump to comfortably defeat the field. Cedar Cliff's Tess Berger took second with a 15-1.25.
She hit her winning jump on her last attempt.
"It's really nerve-wracking. It gets to the point of almost crying between every jump," Christopher said. "I have a lot to work on. I need to work on my speed and hanging in the air and finishing."
Christopher wasn't Hershey's only individual winner. Groves, a sophomore, also took care of business in the open 800, winning the event in 2:28.99.
Groves finished in front of teammate Hannah Jones (2:30.42) and Gettysburg's Nicole Intele-Suggs (2:30.68).
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