Basketball Star Finds a Second Love: Track

Monterey Trail High School track and field coach Robert Longan couldn’t let this type of talent and ability run away—as fast as it may be.

Mustangs junior Phoenisha Schuhmeier already had a first love, basketball. But that wasn’t going to stop Longan from tracking her down.

“She is participating in track because I won’t leave her alone,” Longan joked. “She is seeing the success that is coming from her work, though."

Already a starter for Monterey Trail’s varsity basketball team, Schuhmeier is now one of the top long jumpers in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

At the recent Stanford Invitational, a national event, she placed fourth overall with a long jump of 17 feet, 4 inches.  Schuhmeier was only ranked No. 25 of 36 competitors going into the event after qualifying with a leap of 16-feet, 7-inches.

Pardon the coach's pun, but Longan said she is improving in “leaps and bounds.”

That’s because Schuhmeier didn’t compete for most of her junior year and is still relatively untrained in the event. If she continues to improve and can reach jumps of more than 18 feet, she will be able to earn a college scholarship, Longan said.

The 5-foot-3 Schuhmeier is a natural athlete, with power and explosiveness. She also runs the 100-meter and will soon compete with the relay team. He said that once she combines that talent with fundamentals, she will only leap farther.

“Fundamentally, she is not there yet,” Longan said. “Once she puts that together, that’s how she will jump 18 feet.”

Elk Grove Patch got a chance to chat with Schuhmeier about her second-favorite sport and how she plans to become one of the elite long jumpers in the area.

Did [Longan] have a tough job convincing you to participate in track?

Yeah. And ultimately I wanted to use track to stay in shape. But when I found out I was good, I was like, “Yeaaa, let’s go!”

So are you a basketball star or a track star?

I would say more of a track star now. I am good at basketball too, but I think I am naturally better at track.

What was the moment when you first took to track?

It was the first time out and coach was like, ‘Whoever jumps the farthest gets a Jamba Juice card.’ I said, ‘OK, I want some jamba juice.’ So I go and jump hecka far and I was hecka happy that I won. That’s when realized I was really good at this.

What do you enjoy most about competing in track and field?

Actually, when I first get to an event I try to see who the best is. My goal is to beat whoever it is by the end of the track meet or get close to them.

You qualified for the Stanford Invitational with a jump of 16 feet, 7 inches. But at the event, you leaped a personal record: 17 feet, 4 inches. How were you able to increase your distance?

Speed, and I think that I just wanted it like crazy.

Who do you look up to in your sport?

I look up to my Mom because she was a track star. She is always talking about how she was this and she was that. So I try to be better than her so I don’t have to hear her (laughs).

Have you always been so athletic growing up?

Yeah, I always played sports at every school I went to.

Are there other sports you like?

Just basketball and track.

What’s it going to take for you to compete in track at the college level?

Working hard. Wanting it. Not giving up. Doing everything I can in practice to get ready to complete.

What else do you enjoy doing?

My life is church, school, basketball and track. That’s pretty much it.