Other Sports Daughter of Derrick Thomas turns heads at state meet

reschief · 05-26-2013, 06:24 AM

I thought some of you may enjoy reading this if you didn't see it.

By Adam KnappCatchItKansas.com
7:09 p.m. CDT, May 25, 2013

WICHITA—

The daughter of NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas was at the track and field state championships this weekend. In case you missed that, the announcer in Cessna Stadium not only made sure everyone knew, but also that “she has inherited some incredible athletic genes.”

Her name is Alexa Harmon-Thomas. She is a junior at Lawrence Free State and yes, she’s pretty incredible. She’s excelled in several sports but said she is now concentrating solely on track and field, where she took home three gold medals and a silver in Class 6A this weekend.

She’s got bigger plans. Harmon-Thomas calls herself a heptathlete, competing in the women’s equivalent of the decathlon during the summer. She throws the shot put 33 feet. She even tried to pole vault in practice one day, until her coach saw her.

“I got in trouble for trying that,” Harmon-Thomas said. “I wasn’t supposed to be over there.”

Harmon-Thomas told that story with a smile strikingly similar to her father, one of the most beloved Kansas City Chiefs ever. He compiled a team-record 126.5 quarterback sacks in just 11 seasons before dying of injuries related to a car wreck in 2000.

While she’s a die-hard Chiefs fan and still fiercely proud of her father, Harmon-Thomas also thinks she inherited a speed gene from her mother Kelly, a former track and field standout at Lawrence High.

It was her mother who encouraged her to write down the meet records at the Kansas Relays earlier this spring and try to beat them. She did, in the long jump, and was voted the Most Outstanding Female Athlete at the meet, which includes collegians.

She was just as impressive in Wichita. Harmon-Thomas’ winning long jump of 19 feet, five inches was nearly a foot and half longer than the second-place finisher.

“I’d give myself an A-minus on that one,” Harmon-Thomas said, “only because I was about an inch away from the state record, and I had two scratch jumps that probably would have gotten me there.”

Her time of 14.11 in the 100 meter hurdles would have been a state record, had it not been wind-aided. But in the 300 intermediate hurdles, running against a headwind down the stretch, Harmon-Thomas recorded a time of 42.7 records, tying the state record and winning the race by nearly three seconds.

“That was crazy,” she said. “I was not expecting that. I just want to run hard, and I wasn’t expecting a great time because of the wind. I was shocked when I went across the line and saw my time. I didn’t feel great in the 300, but that probably ended up being my best race.”

The only event Harmon-Thomas didn’t win was the high jump. She and Shawnee Mission East’s Grace Pickell each cleared 5-foot-8, but Harmon-Thomas lost the tiebreaker for missing an earlier attempt at 5-6.

“It was OK,” Harmon-Thomas said. “I wasn’t able to get the warm-up I wanted and do the things I normally do. But if I was going to lose to anybody, I’m glad it was Grace. She’s worked so hard and she’s such a great competitor.”

Harmon-Thomas has lived in Lawrence her whole life. As far as her college choices, the hotly-recruited athlete said she is still wide open.

“I’m going to take a lot of time this summer to think about it,” she said. “I have really great family support and community support, but I may want to go away somewhere, too. I need to think about where I want to go and more importantly, what’s important to me. Until I do that, I don’t think I should go on any visits.”

ThatRaceCardGuy · 05-26-2013, 06:27 AM

Man I miss DT. Awesome news about his kid.

reschief · 05-26-2013, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thatguy

Man I miss DT. Awesome news about his kid.

I can't help but wonder at times - how many sacks would he have ended up with? - I hope his daughter becomes an olympic athlete representing the USA . . . and she's still a Chiefs fan, so you go girl !

milkman · 05-26-2013, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reschief

I can't help but wonder at times - how many sacks would he have ended up with? - I hope his daughter becomes an olympic athlete representing the USA . . . and she's still a Chiefs fan, so you go girl !

DT appeared to be declining fairly rapidly.

Probably would not have gotten more than another 10-12 sacks in the next couple of seasons before retiring.

reschief · 05-26-2013, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman

DT appeared to be declining fairly rapidly.

Probably would not have gotten more than another 10-12 sacks in the next couple of seasons before retiring.

Maybe so, but even if he "lost a step" he would be better than average off the line. But, I can admit homerism in this case.

**LoneWolf** · 05-26-2013, 07:21 AM

How's her body lean coming around the OT? What about her rip and swim move? Maybe we should bring her in for a look.

Braincase · 05-26-2013, 07:24 AM

She's a talent on the level of Jackie Joyner-Kersey. She's also been on the radar of one of the top women's track & field programs in the country since 8th grade.

Rasputin · 05-26-2013, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman

DT appeared to be declining fairly rapidly.

Probably would not have gotten more than another 10-12 sacks in the next couple of seasons before retiring.

I never understood why Marty and Gunther called off DT from breaking his own sack record in a game against the Raiders? I think he had 6 sacks before the end of the third quarter didn't he?

That was against the ****ing Raiders even.

Rasputin · 05-26-2013, 07:44 AM

What no picture of her?

What's up with that?

Come on man.

**Bwana** · 05-26-2013, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

What no picture of her?

What's up with that?

Come on man.

http://www.google.com/

Rasputin · 05-26-2013, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bwana

http://www.google.com/

That's not the drill on CP & you know it Bwana.

**Bwana** · 05-26-2013, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

That's not the drill on CP & you know it Bwana.

Yeah I know, but there are several pictures of her with a quick search. She does have Dad's smile.

Rasputin · 05-26-2013, 07:54 AM

It's pics or get the **** out.

**Bwana** · 05-26-2013, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

It's pics or get the **** out.

Backwards Masking · 05-26-2013, 08:22 AM

It's just like setting up any other kind of franchise; the more you make, the more chances one of them is going to succeed.

odds are one of his other "restaurants" will turn a profit too, i mean he did launch SEVEN of them.

05-26-2013, 06:24 AM
reschief Starter Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: kansas Casino cash: $10007299	Daughter of Derrick Thomas turns heads at state meet I thought some of you may enjoy reading this if you didn't see it. By Adam KnappCatchItKansas.com 7:09 p.m. CDT, May 25, 2013 WICHITA— The daughter of NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas was at the track and field state championships this weekend. In case you missed that, the announcer in Cessna Stadium not only made sure everyone knew, but also that “she has inherited some incredible athletic genes.” Her name is Alexa Harmon-Thomas. She is a junior at Lawrence Free State and yes, she’s pretty incredible. She’s excelled in several sports but said she is now concentrating solely on track and field, where she took home three gold medals and a silver in Class 6A this weekend. She’s got bigger plans. Harmon-Thomas calls herself a heptathlete, competing in the women’s equivalent of the decathlon during the summer. She throws the shot put 33 feet. She even tried to pole vault in practice one day, until her coach saw her. “I got in trouble for trying that,” Harmon-Thomas said. “I wasn’t supposed to be over there.” Harmon-Thomas told that story with a smile strikingly similar to her father, one of the most beloved Kansas City Chiefs ever. He compiled a team-record 126.5 quarterback sacks in just 11 seasons before dying of injuries related to a car wreck in 2000. While she’s a die-hard Chiefs fan and still fiercely proud of her father, Harmon-Thomas also thinks she inherited a speed gene from her mother Kelly, a former track and field standout at Lawrence High. It was her mother who encouraged her to write down the meet records at the Kansas Relays earlier this spring and try to beat them. She did, in the long jump, and was voted the Most Outstanding Female Athlete at the meet, which includes collegians. She was just as impressive in Wichita. Harmon-Thomas’ winning long jump of 19 feet, five inches was nearly a foot and half longer than the second-place finisher. “I’d give myself an A-minus on that one,” Harmon-Thomas said, “only because I was about an inch away from the state record, and I had two scratch jumps that probably would have gotten me there.” Her time of 14.11 in the 100 meter hurdles would have been a state record, had it not been wind-aided. But in the 300 intermediate hurdles, running against a headwind down the stretch, Harmon-Thomas recorded a time of 42.7 records, tying the state record and winning the race by nearly three seconds. “That was crazy,” she said. “I was not expecting that. I just want to run hard, and I wasn’t expecting a great time because of the wind. I was shocked when I went across the line and saw my time. I didn’t feel great in the 300, but that probably ended up being my best race.” The only event Harmon-Thomas didn’t win was the high jump. She and Shawnee Mission East’s Grace Pickell each cleared 5-foot-8, but Harmon-Thomas lost the tiebreaker for missing an earlier attempt at 5-6. “It was OK,” Harmon-Thomas said. “I wasn’t able to get the warm-up I wanted and do the things I normally do. But if I was going to lose to anybody, I’m glad it was Grace. She’s worked so hard and she’s such a great competitor.” Harmon-Thomas has lived in Lawrence her whole life. As far as her college choices, the hotly-recruited athlete said she is still wide open. “I’m going to take a lot of time this summer to think about it,” she said. “I have really great family support and community support, but I may want to go away somewhere, too. I need to think about where I want to go and more importantly, what’s important to me. Until I do that, I don’t think I should go on any visits.”
Posts: 619

05-26-2013, 06:27 AM	#2
ThatRaceCardGuy I BRAUGHT THE BOOZE Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: KU VILLE Casino cash: $10007253	Man I miss DT. Awesome news about his kid.
Posts: 2,895

05-26-2013, 07:21 AM	#6
LoneWolf Constable of Untruths Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Wichita Casino cash: $1471084	How's her body lean coming around the OT? What about her rip and swim move? Maybe we should bring her in for a look.
Posts: 15,037

05-26-2013, 07:24 AM	#7
Braincase Banned Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Pond> Me <Barn Casino cash: $11298284	She's a talent on the level of Jackie Joyner-Kersey. She's also been on the radar of one of the top women's track & field programs in the country since 8th grade. __________________ BrainCase
Posts: 15,429

05-26-2013, 07:44 AM	#9
Rasputin Tip of the hat LIV Champs Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: ks Casino cash: $3245421	What no picture of her? What's up with that? Come on man. __________________ A Brave Man Once Requested Me To Answer Questions That Are Key 'Is It To Be Or Not To Be' And I Replied Oh Why Ask Me
Posts: 54,981

05-26-2013, 07:54 AM	#13
Rasputin Tip of the hat LIV Champs Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: ks Casino cash: $3245421	It's pics or get the **** out. __________________ A Brave Man Once Requested Me To Answer Questions That Are Key 'Is It To Be Or Not To Be' And I Replied Oh Why Ask Me
Posts: 54,981

05-26-2013, 08:22 AM	#15
Backwards Masking Bustle in your hedgerow? Join Date: May 2011 Location: NOT Missouri Casino cash: $10004900	It's just like setting up any other kind of franchise; the more you make, the more chances one of them is going to succeed. odds are one of his other "restaurants" will turn a profit too, i mean he did launch SEVEN of them.
Posts: 2,418