Women's Track and Field | May 31

ST. LOUIS – Northern Illinois University Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Connie Teaberry will be inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday night for the accomplishments throughout her career.
 
"This is truly an honor," said Teaberry on being inducted. "I've looked at some of the names of the other inductees and there are some names on the list that I never thought that I would be beside on a wall, in a book or on a plaque. Truly for the city of St. Louis to recognize me in this manner as well as my high school is truly an honor."
 
Lutheran North High School is being inducted, while Teaberry is one of four athletes from Lutheran North in St. Louis to be featured from her athletic accomplishments as a student athlete. Among the four, she is the only female amongst Steve Atwater of the Denver Broncos, Bobby Joe Edmonds of the Seattle Seahawks and Kurt Petersen of the Dallas Cowboys.
 
"They are inducting my high school into the hall of fame, and then from there, they went through the athletes and there are four of us that went to Lutheran North High school in St. Louis, Missouri that they pinpointed to also be inducted separately."
 
After graduating from Lutheran North, Teaberry went on to Kansas State University where she became a six-time All-American in the high jump event. She had planned on becoming a nurse after graduating in 1992, but there were bigger achievements left to accomplish as an athlete.
 
Teaberry was accepted into the graduate program at Kansas State, allowing her to continue training and dip her toes into coaching.
 
"It all started with having phenomenal coaches and people beside me that helped me get to this point," said Teaberry. "It shows the hard work, not only from me, the student athlete, but also of the staff that got me there. It's such an honor and means so much to me that they are considering me for this recognition."
 
In 1993, she qualified for her first World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, where she finished 18^th, and returned in 1995 for a second time in Gothenburg, Sweden, where she placed 31^st. Teaberry was not done there.
 
The next goal for Teaberry was much bigger, making the Olympic team that would compete in the 1996 games held in Atlanta, Georgia, all while coaching full-time at Toledo University as an assistant coach.
 
"The U.S. trials are one of the toughest events in the world, some people say tougher than the (Olympic) games," said Teaberry in an interview from 2016. "Even though I had made those previous teams there were always three or four athletes that were ranked higher than I was, but it was about getting it done at the right time."
 
Teaberry ended up making the Olympic team after missing her first two attempts at the six feet, four and a quarter inch height that eluded her. She went on to clear her third jump and make the 1996 Olympic team.
 
Though Teaberry is being recognized for her athletic ability that all started at Lutheran North, but her success continues in track & field as a coach at NIU. She has coached numerous young ladies that look up to her and continue to work for their own successes on and off the track.
 
"The thing about coaching for me is the opportunity to give student athletes, like I was back in the day, an opportunity to get their education and fulfill some of the dreams that they have athletically," said Teaberry. "It's one of those things that once you get through those four years, you see those young ladies come in as girls and they leave as women. As a coach, you may never talk to some of those athletes again, but you know they are doing well in their lives, not just athletically but in their personal lives. To be a part of that is rewarding."
 
-NIU-