A lot of things have happened for Sheena Gordon since the day she walked into Erie McDowell High's gym. That day the track and field coach took one look at her tall frame and urged her to try the high jump.
"I landed on my feet and knew I was made to do it," Gordon said.
Gordon in the NCAA Indoor Championships (Photo courtesy of North Carolina Athletics)
Indeed she was made to high jump.
Shortly after that day she became a national-level high school jumper in the event. Then, following many state titles in a variety of events, she graduated, went to UCLA, dropped in performance and fell off the national radar screen before transferring to the University of North Carolina as a junior last year.
That was a great move as this winter Gordon, a senior captain, won the NCAA Division I indoor high jump championship in a jump-off round.
"Winning a national championship has been a goal since I left high school," she said. "It wasn't nerve-wracking (having a jump-off) at that point because I knew I was prepared and that it was destiny."
The win has put her back on the radar both nationally and with her home state. She said she's constantly receiving words of praise from other former and current Pennsylvania athletes. Their coaches have been chiming in as well.
This week she'll return to the Keystone State an attempt to better her third-place finish in last year's Penn Relay's high jump championship. Gordon is also an All-American triple jumper and was third in that event at the Relays last year as well.
"It's always fun to come home and try to compete well," she said. "Hopefully this year I'll try to win. I'll probably be a little sore."
She may be a little sore because the Tar Heels were at the Atlantic Coast Conference championship meet this past weekend and Gordon tripled up in events by taking third in the high jump, sixth in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump.
In high school she wasn't afraid to take on extra events either when she asked, and her ability to lead by example hasn't dwindled over the years.
Her college coach, Dennis Craddock, has said she is one of the best captains he has ever had. "She's a very serious-minded athlete and plays hard at the right time," Craddock said. "But at the same she can let her hair down and athletes can sense all that. She's not afraid to say 'this is the way to do things, but is still friends'" with her teammates.
Gordon in the 2006 ACC Indoor Meet (Photo courtesy of North Carolina Athletics)
Being serious-minded is what helped Gordon keep her cool at this winter's indoor championship.
She and University of Georgia freshman Levern Spencer both missed their first attempt in the jump-off, but Gordon was confident when the bar was lowered for their second try and just waited for Spencer to make her attempt, which she failed.
"My legs were getting tired so going down in height I knew I could do it," Gordon said. "I had a lot of emotions. It was pretty exhilarating, exciting and overwhelming. When I composed myself I went over to thank my parents and coach."
Gordon also finished fourth in the triple jump to earn All-American honors.
Part of her success is finally figuring out where she belonged. Gordon said UNC had always been the school she thought she belonged at, but when it came time to accept an offer the thought of going to California was pretty intriguing. During her second year at UCLA she had to deal with an unstable coaching situation along with not having the major that she really wanted. "It boiled down to me not being happy," she said. So off to UNC she went.
She's since become a 6-3 ¼ foot high jumper and is just a quarter of an inch way from tying the Tar Heel's school record, set by two-time Olympian Tisha Waller. Waller is also the current American indoor record-holder.
"Sheena could surpass Tisha's school record here in the high jump this senior year if she stays healthy and has a little good luck along the way," Craddock said.
Gordon could do more than just that.
She has one more indoor season of eligibility left, but she may be finding herself presented with shoe contracts to turn pro this spring.
Whether or not that does happen Gordon said her plan is to try to train for the 2008 Olympics. No matter what, she plans to stay involved in sports as she is majoring in sport science and would like to go into sports administration at some point.