Meaghan Byrd has decided not to decide.
The Huntley volleyball and track standout has spent most of her senior year grappling with the decision of whether to be a volleyball player or a track woman in college. When she finished weighing one sport against the other, the scales tipped only slightly toward track. She signed a track scholarship with Middle Tennessee State University, but the story doesn’t end there. She will play both sports at the Murfreesboro, Tenn., school, and volleyball will pick up half her scholarship her second year.
“I’ve thought about it a lot,” said the defending Illinois Class A shot put champion. “I decided that I love track as an individual thing for me but I didn’t think I could give up volleyball. They have some girls who are out for two sports, and I think that helps. I met some of the track girls, and they were so nice. I probably think of myself as a track person, but when volleyball comes around, I think of myself as both.
“I really loved the school. It has something to do with the South, the `southern hospitality’ thing. Everyone was so friendly. It’s a little bit different than the Midwest. You can be walking across campus and people will wave at you and they don’t even know you. I really felt at home.”
The weather is a little better there than it has been in northern Illinois this spring. Byrd, whose best in the shot put last season was 42-2 1/2, has been struggling a bit this season. She finally got over 40 feet two weeks ago at Crystal Lake Central and has been consistently improving.
Last Friday at the Winnebago Invitational, she threw a season best 40-6 and had her season best in the discus at 123-11. Just being outside has helped her performance. It might not seem like much of a difference throwing outdoors, but it is to Byrd.
“I hate to throw inside,” said Byrd, who was eighth in Class A as a freshman and runner-up as a sophomore. “It kind of throws me off a little bit. While the indoor shot weighs the same [8 pounds], it’s a different size, a little bigger. I’m not really used to it. When I get outdoors, it’s awesome. I love throwing outdoors. You get the fresh air, and it just kind of revives you.”
Byrd will use the next two weeks to refine her technique, as Huntley has two meets left in the regular season. She has been getting better but is still a little behind last year’s pace.
“She’s coming around now,” said Huntley coach Shawn Nordeen, who also uses the versatile Byrd in sprint relays. “Now she’s finally gotten 40-0. It’s been tough, but she’s working hard. She’s been a little frustrated. I think now that it’s getting a little warmer and the competition has been better, she’ll come around. She likes the better competition.”
This spring Byrd has been splitting her time between track and club volleyball with Club Fusion in Elgin. She plays volleyball Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with tournaments on the weekend. Combined with track six days a week, there isn’t much free time, but she has learned to handle it. That will come in handy at college.
“You don’t have much of a social life,” she said. “I have plenty of friends but most of the time I am too tired to do anything.”
At Huntley, Byrd was a 6-foot middle hitter. At Middle Tennessee, she will likely be used in the middle and on the right side. In track, she will specialize in the shot but will also work on the discus.
After four years of dividing her time between track and volleyball, Byrd has gotten used to it. Dropping either sport would have been difficult and hasn’t helped her performance.
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“I don’t think it has affected me to the point where I’ve done bad,” said Byrd, who had college offers in both track and volleyball. “But it’s really stayed in the back of my head. Once it got to crunch time it was like, `Oh my gosh, I’ve got to decide really soon.’ I wish I had made a decision early so I wouldn’t have to be stuck in the middle so late in the year. It still sticks in the back of my head.”
Fortunately, Middle Tennessee helped her make the only decision she could.