Sisterly Love KC's McCanna siblings persevere on track
BUTLER TWP — Through the darkness and despair, Rozina McCanna knew there was one thing she could count on.
Her sister, Shavon.
During her sophomore year at Karns City High School, Rozina withdrew from everything she once loved.
Volleyball. Quit.
Basketball. Quit.
Track and field. Quit that, too.
Rozina sunk deeper and deeper into depression. Hit rock bottom.
Her anxiety growing to nearly intolerable levels, Shavon was there to comfort her. Listen to her. Hold her if she needed holding.
“My sister always helped me out,” Rozina said. “She was with me through everything.”
Now no longer gripped by the debilitating hopelessness, Rozina and her sister are waging a campaign of success for the Karns City track and field team.
Shavon, a sophomore, has the top time in District 9 in the 300 hurdles at 49.2 seconds.
Shavon was just another hurdler as a freshman for the Gremlins, but now has emerged as one of the best — not only in the district, but in the state.
“I'm very surprised how well I'm doing this year so far,” Shavon said. “Last year I didn't make it to districts, but in my first meet this year I already qualified for districts.”
In fact, Karns City coaches had to convince Shavon that she was doing that well.
She didn't quite believe she had the top time in the district.
“I kept asking, 'Oh my gosh. Is it true?' Shavon said, chuckling. “They said, 'Yeah. You worked for it.'”
Shavon is also a member of the Karns City volleyball and competitive cheer teams.
The cheer team placed second in the state competition this winter.
Shavon is just as busy during track meets.
As well as running the 300 hurdles, she runs a leg of the 3,200-meter relay, the 100 hurdles and the 200.The 300 hurdles, though, is her best individual event.And she's getting better with each meet.“She has great potential,” said Karns City assistant track and field coach Rob Pennington. “This year she's stepped it up 100 percent.”It has altered Shavon's expectations for herself during her sophomore season.“Now I want to try to keep getting my times lower and lower and get to states at least,” Shavon said. “That's my main goal right now.”Rozina's main goal was just to participate in sports again.It was difficult for Rozina to escape the year-long black hole her depression and anxiety left in her life.“I've seen a pretty dark place and it's scarring,” Rozina said. “But I'm better now and pulled myself out of it.”She made the decision to join the track and field team very late.Rozina has cleared 4 feet, 8 inches in the high jump already this year and also has designs on getting to the state meet.“I'm definitely surprised because if you would have asked me even two months ago if I was going to be doing track, I probably would have laughed,” Rozina said. “It was a last-second thing just to get involved in something again because I used to get myself involved in a lot of things.”Rozina said she is still trying to get back into a normal routine.Pennington, though, can already see the difference in her.“She's a completely different kid,” Pennington said. “When she was a freshman, she was completely withdrawn — not a loner, but quiet in her thoughts. Hard on herself. She's more upbeat, and now when she does something wrong, she learned from it instead of being down on herself.”Rozina didn't clear a height at the Buter Track and Field Invitational Thursday, but took it all in stride.Rozina spent most of the time observing other competitors and asking questions in the pursuit of getting better at her craft.“I came here to see other people and what they're doing,” she said. “I've been having trouble on my approach for the high jump, so I wanted to see how other people do it. I've definitely seen some crazy stuff here. People are super fast and the people here can jump like crazy.”Rozina is just happy to be a part of something again.Between events Thursday at the Butler Invite, she, her sister and a few of her teammates mulled about on the infield at Art Bernardi Stadium, laughing and joking.“I'm definitely getting back into how I was before,” Rozina said. “When I decided to go out for track again, I knew everyone was going to be surprised that I was going to show up. I'm glad I did.”
