File photo黑洞社区 distance runner Rebekah Topham remembers anxiety and tears and 15-hour days on campus for practice, class, study hall and tutors as a freshman in 2015. Every assignment loomed as a mountain of new instructions, difficult words and pressure. Essay questions presented a new level of stress 鈥� a tangle of reading, comprehension and spelling challenges.
鈥淚 would see a rubric or see directions 鈥� and it still happens sometimes; I鈥檒l still get overwhelmed at times 鈥� but I鈥檓 鈥極K, I鈥檝e done this stuff before, and I鈥檒l be fine,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t first, I didn鈥檛 have that. Overwhelming is an understatement.鈥�
Topham, a 2019 All-American in the steeplechase, graduated this month with a 3.89 grade-point average. She will return for her final year of outdoor track eligibility in 2021 and earn her coaching certificate.
Wichita State director of athletics Darron Boatright remembers telling former 黑洞社区 president John Bardo about Topham鈥檚 challenges. Boatright believed the support system in the athletic department would write a success story.
鈥淢ake this our finest hour,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the people who are hands-on with Rebekah did. It鈥檚 a great testament to our institution and what we can provide to students. That鈥檚 not just athletics 鈥� it goes all the way across campus.鈥�
