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She was a determined girl fighting the odds, but no one knew if she would make it. Catching up with her now, just beginning her senior year, we re proud to see her spirit still pushing her on the athletic field and to learn she is not only fully recovered from the accident, but stronger for the effort.<br><br>Better Than Ever<br><br>In the summer, only a year after her accident, Christi began running well.  I was doing everything, she says.  If a normal person saw me they couldn t tell anything happened. I was playing volleyball, basketball, track and gymnastics.<br> The doctors actually say my back is stronger because of the bone they took from my hip to fuse my spine. I have no side effects, none. It s amazing. Sometimes I forget the whole accident happened. <br>Pressed on the subject, she admits to some weakness in the right leg.  I need to compensate with the left, she says,  but I m working on fixing that in the run. It doesn t stop me, but it is a technical point I need to work on. <br>Christi attained her present height and weight of 5-foot-3 and 130 pounds early, and gymnastics gave way to track and the pole vault. She began working at Wichita Extreme Athletics with brothers Randy and Darrin Bryant. The center works with dance, tumbling and cheerleading, but because both brothers vaulted in high school, they also coached vaulters. Randy has been to two Olympics and coached in Australia and Mexico. The two trainers are highly technical in their approach, and they believe that Christi has the raw talent and drive to make her mark in the vault.<br>Christi s best vault at press time was 12.1 feet. She feels that won t stand for long as she enters her senior year. With her scholastic achievements, she s confident she ll receive a scholarship in the vault or in basketball. She s spent the summer working hard on both, at the academy with drills, trampoline, push-ups, the high bar and speed drills. At the local rec center she s been able to maintain a three-times-per-week strength-training schedule where her training weight on the bench is 135 and her squat is 180. Power cleans complete her core lifts.<br>Back to school means back to the gym with her coaches for a more aggressive approach. The lifting that sped her recovery and brought her back to the competitive athletic field is first on her list to win her that ticket to a good college and vaulting coach.<br> Gymnastics was my first love, but as I got older and with the accident I grew out of it, says Christi.  The pole vault is what I want to do in college, but some day I d love to coach gymnastics. <br>Considering colleges, Christi isn t looking at location as much as coaches.  I feel the coach is the most important. I want a coach who knows the vault, and a school that also has a good track program. I wouldn t mind moving away, but I know it will be tough.<br> I m thankful for everything my parents and the community have done for me. I have a real support system here, with my church and friends. I m very lucky and very grateful, and hope that luck carries on when I move on. <br>Perhaps it s due even more to sheer guts than to luck, but however you look at it, Christi has demonstrated that you can make miracles happen with dedication, persistence and faith. o it that they perform to the best of their ability at the conclusion of the collegiate season, and have plenty left to go on to the United States Championships and get a chance to represent their count#;)jO;o'b9JTbY}IfXZleb;UV4Rrv'8̥U@P; H ldN6?$*z2Ё60<_2ش𛨂r֫1ZOd6:KȢ!i.u?%\`]6:\2kt>*~n:_J6ުg5]U+kV|7Om9[ ׫G]H.6!y+H.7L+JQ.yl|`լaHi+Q}ka%12sh)Lc([p:m%zmf[ ! ǖʧŁ 6գPDHk7ff6p:$*Dw^+Bw8*kW4 Z}֠QB gE4}ztaXsl[ǾG`y0si))Wv/4E}@V7ZjP+B"я4"́.#F]ԟ"V$US3WM<4<8r $5X~?KȓPC w-/. I2~!F~7 PGKB{vY9sā^#דr3:^%̶%z B@