In a class by themselves

Nobody saw this coming.

Four years ago, as two freshmen from opposite ends of the state unloaded their relatively sparse possessions from their parents’ cars, no one could have envisioned how their collegiate journeys might end.

After all, in the 44 years in which Fredonia State competed in women’s athletics, the campus had never had a female national champion. So if you had told anyone in Dods or Steele hall that they’d be celebrating two of them — just days apart — in four years, even the most die-hard Blue Devil fans might have had some skepticism.

But that’s what happened on March 13, as perennial track and field star Julia Hopson became the university’s first female Division III national champion by winning the 20-pound weight throw at the NCAA indoor championships — only to be matched on the 3-meter springboard a mere five days later by diving dynamo Kelly Sponholz, who set a new D-III record in the process.

Hopson’s title came on her final collegiate throw indoors as she heaved the 20-pound weight a SUNYAC record 18.25 meters. During her four years she earned five All-American titles, SUNYAC records in the weight and hammer throws, and amassed 13 SUNYAC titles.

Sponholz leaves Fredonia as its most decorated diver, having won two SUNYAC titles per year while becoming an eight-time All-American. She earned four trips to the NCAA championships, which culminated with her record-setting 516.50-point performance.

These two individuals — now forever linked in Fredonia State history — took some time to share their inspiring stories as they prepared to say goodbye to the place they’ve called home since 2005, and take that next step into the real world.

Drive, discipline, and family support

Like most great athletes, Hopson and Sponholz have tremendous drive and discipline. Both also had strong family and coaching support throughout their youth, gently guiding them behind the scenes to do their best. However, they share another experience that is surprising, to say the least: wrestling.
Julia’s older brother, William, was the captain of their middle school wrestling team, and he left an indelible mark on her.

“I actually blame him for me becoming an athlete,” Hopson joked. “We would just have at it every day. We broke lots of stuff.”

But as she grew up, she quickly gained ground — so much so that he eventually stopped provoking her once she started lifting weights as part of her track and field conditioning.

Kelly’s link to grapplers was even stronger, thanks to her older brothers, Joe and Fred, and father, Craig.

“Everything my brothers did, I did,” the Alden, N.Y., native said with a glimmer of mischief in her eye. “They played soccer and they wrestled…and so did I.”

Her father coached the Town of Alden wrestling team, so at age 6, there was Kelly, keeping up with her big brothers as a full-fledged member of the team.
“My dad says I made a lot of boys cry,” she laughed. “I was the only girl on the team for a while.”

She wrestled competitively until age 11, when she decided to focus on more “lady-like” sports such as dancing, cheerleading and, most importantly, gymnastics — in which she had competed since age 9. But these other sports would prove far more useful to Sponholz, whose aerial aquatic-acrobatic career would start following the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

“I was amazed at what I saw them doing,” she recalled. “The very next day I went into school and talked with the (Alden High School swimming) coach.”
Though just in eighth grade, she made the modified swim team. By her sophomore year of high school, she qualified for an area club team.
Julia admitted that her path to track and field was far less inspiring.

“I chose track in middle school because it was the only sport that didn’t require tryouts,” the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., resident said sheepishly.

Once she started, however, she knew it was for her. She received great support from coaches and her father, Robert, who ran track in high school and college. She soon knew she wanted to compete at the collegiate level.

However, neither Hopson or Sponholz had Fredonia anywhere near the top of their wish lists when it came time to search for schools. In fact, in Julia’s case, it wasn’t even on her radar.

“I had never even heard of Fredonia,” admitted Hopson.

She knew she wanted to study graphic arts and join a track team because she loved running; throwing events had taken a back seat, even though she was undefeated in the shot put during eighth grade.

When it was time to start looking for schools, it was her mother, Bernadette, who helped Julia find Fredonia.

“She went online and found that (Fredonia) had a good graphic arts program, and a good track team,” Julia remembered. “She convinced me to check them out.”

Kelly’s route was fairly similar, albeit several hours closer for the Western New Yorker. Despite attending a two-day diving camp on campus following her freshman year of high school, Fredonia wasn’t among her top choices either.

“I thought I wanted to go farther away, maybe to a bigger school, but my parents really pushed for Fredonia,” says Sponholz, who now holds a degree in Childhood Education with a Middle School Extension. “They liked the fact that it was only one hour away, and its education program was so strong. Plus, they could stay involved.”

And stay they did. Kelly’s parents have always played a large role in both her athletic and academic endeavors. Her mom, Sue, has been especially supportive of her diving career, coming to virtually every meet, even when her dad had conflicting obligations as a coach.

“They’ve just had a tremendous impact on me and my success,” Kelly stressed.
She also received the constant support and encouragement of coaches Arthur Wang and John Crawford.

“She has continued to improve all four years,” Crawford said on Kelly’s record-setting day at the NCAA championships in Minneapolis. “That was evidenced by her setting two more SUNYAC records at this year’s meet. There’s no doubt that at today’s competition, she was the most consistent diver and she was doing it at a high level.”

Hopson and Sponholz have one more thing in common: both almost stepped away from their sports, although for decidedly different reasons. For Kelly, it happened after her sophomore year of high school, after experiencing what the diving world calls a “smack.” As the name implies, she didn’t execute a dive, resulting in a high-speed impact that can have devastating effects on a diver, often more psychological than physical.

“It was dead quiet,” she said of the natatorium where it happened. “For a long time I couldn’t attempt that dive again. I pretty much had to re-learn how to dive my junior year.”

Hopson experienced a smack of a far more devastating nature. During the winter break following the fall of her sophomore year at Fredonia, Bernadette Hopson lost her battle with cancer, and the impact it had on Julia was severe.
“I seriously considered not coming back,” she recalled. “I was really thinking of taking a break. But I was lucky. I had a lot of friends, especially on the team. They helped me get through it and realize it’s what my mom would have wanted me to do. In many ways, track helped me deal with all of that.”

Foremost on that list of supporters is head coach and throwing specialist Liz Aldrich, whose support and dedication, Hopson said, was critical to her success.

“I’m a lot closer with Liz than anyone else,” Hopson said. “I can always turn to her with problems.”

Aldrich also helped Hopson overcome one of her biggest initial roadblocks to becoming a champion: self-confidence. You see, at just 5 feet, 6 inches, Hopson quickly realized that most of the women she was competing against were a lot bigger.

“The first time we really noticed (the difference in size) was at the Armory in New York (City),” Aldrich said. “We tried to prepare her for it, but at that meet, it really hit her. But then Julia saw the (long) distances she was throwing, and she realized she could make up for her size with her speed and technique. They were keeping her in the mix.”

Hopson’s teammates have also been staunchly supportive. Several of them traveled with Julia to her final NCAA outdoor championship this past May in Marietta, Ohio, where she capped off her career with a third-place finish in the hammer throw.

Hopson’s trademark focus served her outside of sports as well, allowing her to excel academically — a characteristic for which she was honored twice during her final semester.

In January, Julia was one of just 20 student-athletes nationwide selected to exhibit her art work at the NCAA National Convention in Washington, D.C. Her entry, an acrylic on canvas titled, “Squishy,” is a self-portrait that, in her words, “shows a more playful side that not many people get to see.” She was also included in that month’s issue of Champion, the NCAA’s magazine, in an article which profiled artistic students whose work related to their athletic accomplishments.

Then, in April, she was one of four Fredonians to receive the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, given to seniors who have integrated academic excellence with achievements in athletics, leadership, creative or performing arts, and community service. SUNY Vice Chancellor and Officer-In-Charge John J. O’Connor presented it to her at a ceremony held in Albany, and she wore the medallion she received with her cap and gown at Commencement in May.

Today, Hopson and Sponholz are buy figuring out what’s next. Julia is taking a year away from academics, returning home to Poughkeepsie to do some coaching for her former high school. She plans on pursuing a master’s degree in graphic design in the fall of 2010. Kelly has also returned home, where she’s searching for work as an elementary school teacher while exploring options to gain her master’s degree. She’s also continuing to teach the diving classes she began offering last summer at Alden High School.

Surprisingly, Kelly and Julia never knew each other very well while attending Fredonia. They had different friends and their competition schedules limited their ability to interact. However, as their careers progressed, they began to quietly root for one another, although neither one knew the other was doing it.
“Especially this last year, I’d ask Coach (Aldrich) how Kelly did,” Hopson said. “It was nice knowing she was also representing Fredonia. Maybe in a way it lowered the pressure a little for me.”

Sponholz agreed: “It was definitely impressive, what she was doing. It gave me something more to strive for too.”

In the months leading up to graduation, however, they wound up seeing a lot more of each other, as they were almost always discussed in the same sentence, a pattern that’s not likely to change for at least another five years.

“They can make their reservations now for 2014,” said Sports Information Director Jerry Reilly, in reference to the year in which both will become eligible for induction into the Fredonia State Athletics Hall of Fame. “They’ve already punched those tickets.”

And on that night, they will once again share the spotlight and the podium. But there’s one thing neither will ever have to share: their memories. That’s because, for one cold March day, each was the very best that more than 400 NCAA D-III schools had to offer. She was number one. She held that trophy. She stood alone.