
You could say
that Sheryl Haynes Lemaster was always fast on her feet.
Blessed with
great genes from a talented family, Sheryl was one of the
top female athletes and sprinters to graduate from Bellevue
Senior High School. A 1980 graduate of BSHS, Sheryl earned
six varsity letters in the sports of tennis, basketball, and
track and field, completely rewriting the record book in
track and field.
It began for
Sheryl in 1976 as a freshman at the current Junior High
School since BSHS was only a three-year high school at the
time. Sheryl participated in girls basketball and was a head
cheerleader at the junior high, and was also a member of the
boys track team as there was no recognized girls track team
at that time. Sheryl and three of her male teammates (Art
Goss, Keith Miller, Terry Miller) still hold the record in
the 880-yard relay at the junior high.
Sheryl made her presence felt a year later, entering BSHS as
a sophomore and lettering in both basketball and track while
also completing a year as a head cheerleader. In track, she
was named team Most Valuable Performer, set new Northern
Ohio League marks in both of the 100 and 220-yard dashes
(11.4 and 26.6), and was a district qualifier in those same
two events.
As a junior,
Sheryl continued to make an impact on the record books. She
participated in tennis and basketball and once again
lettered in track and field. In tennis, she was the No. 1
singles player for the junior varsity squad in her first
year participating in the sport. In basketball, a broken
foot sidelined Sheryl for all but eight games, but by track
season, she was fully healed and ready to go. Once again,
she was chosen MVP of the track squad and set new NOL
records in the 220 and 440-yard dashes (26.5 and 60.2). She
set a new Bellevue Invitational record in the 220 (26.9),
won the 440, was second in the 100 and the long jump, and
was voted MVP. She set a school mark in the high jump (5-1)
and was a district qualifier in the 100, 220 and 440,
setting a new district mark in the 220 at 26.0. She was
district champ in the 440 (59.1) and qualified to the state
meet in the 220 and 440 where she finished fourth in the 440
with a new school record of 58.9 and finished fifth in the
220 at 26.3
During her
senior year in 1979-80, Sheryl continued to excel
athletically, earning varsity letters in tennis, basketball
(co-captain) and track (co-captain). She played No. 1
doubles in tennis and was a district qualifier. In
basketball, she earned second team all-league honors. And in
track, she continued to garner records and awards. For the
third straight year, she was named track MVP. She won three
events at the league meet (100, 220, 440), setting a new
record of 60.0 in the 440. She finished first in those same
three events at the Bellevue Invitational, setting Invite
and stadium records in all three (11.7, 26.2, 61.2). She
qualified to the districts in all three events and won the
220 in record-setting fashion (25.4). She qualified to state
in the 200 and finished fourth at 25.8 seconds. For her
efforts, she received the Gazette Award as the most valuable
female athlete of 1980.
Sheryl still
owns four school and two league records in track and field.
After high
school, Sheryl had offers from the University of Kentucky
and Kent State University to pursue her academic and
athletic careers, but decided not to participate in college
athletics.
Sheryl, her husband, Don,
and their family reside in Bellevue |