March 5, 2008 Johnson City, Tennesse-The three Graceland track athletes in Johnson City, Tennessee this week for the NAIA Indoor National Meet had the day off from competition Wednesday. Senior Elisha Plaine (Strathroy, Ontario), junior Ben Brummitt (Unionville, MO) and freshman Cinnamon Jenkins (Jacksonville, FL) along with Head Coach Kent Allshouse, Assistant Coach Danny Alvarado, and Sports Information Director Matt Shelton all traveled to Mountain View Elementary School to speak to the students about the NAIA's Champions of Character philosophy.
The athletes and coaches went around to three different classrooms on the day, teaching the students about the core values of the Champions of Character philosophy. Respect, responsibilty, integrity, servant leadership, and sportsmanship. This is not the first time Graceland has been to Mountain View Elementary. The Graceland track program did such a phenominal job last year, they were asked to comeback this year and again, the students appeared to enjoy the learning experience.
"It's great for the kids to have an opportunity to be exposed to this program," said Mrs. Smith a first grade teacher at Mountain View. "To be a part of something as important as educating kids today on the value of sportsmanship is incredible," said Coach Allshouse after the event. "Each year that we participate in this program we leave with a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and self worth. We feel like we really reached the kids that we talked to and to be one of only fourteen teams out of a possible 150 to be invited to partake in this is an honor. Evidentally the Graceland track athletes are good at what they do as we've been requested to comeback to this school for the second straight year."
The three Jackets that qualified for the national meet will kick off action tomorrow at 2:00 pm eastern time as Ben Brummitt begins his push for a victory in the heptathalon. Elisha Plaine and Cinnamon Jenkins both compete on Friday. Stay in tuned to the Graceland website for immediate updates on their progress.
For More Information on Graceland University Athletics Contact:
Matt Shelton, Sports Information Director
(641) 784-5318
mshelton@graceland.edu
