May 12, 2010
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF track and field standout LaKendra Thames is a pillar of strength what with her ability to bench-press 255 pounds, squat 440 pounds and to throw the shot put further than anyone in school history.
But those tangible numbers and school-record marks don't even begin to put into context Thames' greatest strength of all. With Thames, you see, it's a miracle that she's here at all, much less thriving in the classroom and on the track for UCF. She is a survivor who has overcome the kinds of horrible events that certainly would have taken down most in a similar situation.
Thames' story isn't known by many, but it's one that should be paid attention to because it is one of perseverance, one of triumph over tragedy and one that should have a happy ending despite a horrific beginning.
Thames, a senior, heads into Thursday's Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at UCF as one of the favorites in the shot put and discus competitions. But regardless of how those events turn out, she is already a winner because of what she has overcome and the position she has put herself in.
Intelligent, well-spoken and oozing with charisma, Thames talks now like someone confident she can overcome anything that life dares to throw her way.
"I look at it like I made an opportunity for myself and then I took advantage of it," Thames said before a recent practice. "A lot of people in my situation would have given up on life. I'm glad that I have a strong mindset to overcome what I have. If I can overcome what I have, I can overcome anything. I don't mind challenges now because I know now that I can do anything."
Thames, a Winter Garden native, has no real memories of her parents, Kenneth Thames and Theresa Hardy, who were both shot and killed in 1992 when she was just 3 years old. She was raised instead by her great-grandmother, Lee Burt, who was often her biggest critic and routinely questioned whether or not she'd ever make anything of her life.
But all of that is a distant memory now that Thames is a three-time Dean's List and C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll winner. She will soon graduate with a degree in Pre-Clinical Allied Health Science and a graduate school program will likely follow. Her bold dreams always exceeded the limited expectations and she hopes someday soon she'll become a physician's assistant.
And she's been just as successful in her field events for UCF. She holds the school records for the indoor shot put, the outdoor shot put and the indoor weight throw. She set new records in the indoor weight throw and shot put at the Rod McCravy Invitational in late January. And she was a big hit at UCF from the start of her career, holding four school marks for freshmen.
"I was always told that I wasn't going to be anything in life, so I've had to work hard for everything I've ever gotten," Thames said with conviction. "I just had to tell myself, 'I'm not going to listen to them.' I made it out and I'm trying to stay out and keep going now. I have high goals and high expectations for myself, and I'm not going to let anything stop me."
Most would have been stopped by an upbringing in Winter Garden that was downright unfit for an impressionable child. LaKendra said her father, Kenneth, was a known drug dealer in the area. She said that her mother, Theresa, was ultimately shot and killed by Kenneth. And Kenneth was later abducted and killed on March 18, 1992.
Her great grandmother ultimately took custody of Thames, although she spent plenty of time with her grandmother, Lizzie Thames, as well. Things couldn't have gotten much worse than the time with her parents, Thames said, but they weren't exactly rosy with her great grandmother, either.
"She never really liked me and I guess it was because my grandmother favored me because I was the first child," Thames remembered. "My grandmother, I love her to death. She was the one who always told me to not listen to what people were saying and telling me not to let others bring me down when they see you doing better than them. I would just go to her and she would encourage me. And that's all that I needed. She was my backbone."
Thames remembers a time when in the third grade when she almost strayed off course and contemplated quitting school before she even hit 10 years old. She remembers being inspired - rather than being discouraged - by taunts from others that she'd never make anything out of herself.
"My great grandmother would tell me that I'd never go inside to school and I'd always just stay outside. I was standing outside the building and I guess I was about to give up," Thames recalled. "I just told myself even back then, 'I'm not going to listen to her.' Imagine how taxing that would be on a little baby. But I always went to class, I kept my grades up and she never had a problem out of me again."
Thames said she and her great grandmother ultimately repaired their relationship, to the point now she said she holds no bitterness. Graduating from West Orange High School and going to college and succeeding in the classroom and in track and field helped Thames prove to herself that she could make something of her life and accomplish any of her goals.
That never-give-up mentality has carried over to throwing the shot and the discus and has helped Thames become an elite competitor. UCF throws coach Jeff Chakouian has seen a tremendous growth in Thames' mental side as well as with her physical gifts.
"From when I got here in July to where she is now, she's grown so much," Chakouian said. "We've had conversations about throwing and life. A lot of coaches always want to fix something or do something differently, but with her it's just about getting better every day with what you already do. She's carried that over to life, too.
"Just in the last few months, she'd have a lot of different thoughts go through her head, but it's interesting to see how she's grown into a woman now," Chakouian said. "To be where she's at academically and on the track being a great student and a great teammate, that says the world about her."
Thames has worked hard to make the world recognize her on field of competition, spending roughly 90 minutes a day in the weight room and on the field throwing. She competes in the shot put, discus and hammer throw, saying that her favorite one is the one she's performing best in that particular day.
She enters as the C-USA Championships as the second seed behind SMU's Simone du Toit, the defending champion in both the shot put and discus events. Thames has improved throughout the season, posting a personal best in the discus (166-6/50.75m) last Thursday. The finals of the women's discus are set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. while the shot put finals will take place Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
"LaKendra's extremely strong. Her lifting numbers are off the charts," Chakouian said. "Her bench is 255 max, she can clean over 200 pounds and she can squat over 400 pounds. And when you watch her do stadium (runs) and sled pulls you see how she's really explosive. She's one of those rare athletes who has it all."
And she has the belief that she can overcome anything after surviving a rough upbringing and thriving as both a student and an athlete at UCF.
"I kind of had to go off to college to show them that I'm not what they say I am," Thames said defiantly. "But like I said, I have high goals and high expectations for myself. I'm just not going to let anything keep me from reaching my goals."
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFathletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.