ROWLETT – Brandi Smith plays the clarinet, participates in academic decathlon, student council and book club and is a member of the National Honor Society.
Her eclectic hobbies also once included an appearance in a National American Miss beauty pageant, where she was the only participant in a wheelchair.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the 17-year-old Rowlett senior has one more item to check off her list before graduation: to win a gold medal at the state track meet.
Smith will be the Dallas area’s first and only representative in the wheelchair division of the UIL state track and field championships Saturday at Michael A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
Twelve boys and girls athletes qualified for the pilot program, and Smith is one of only five that qualified in all three events – the 100 meters, 400 meters and shot put.
“Hopefully I’m making a difference for kids to come with disabilities,” Smith said. “To show them that even though you have a disability, you can still do whatever you put your mind to.”
Smith was born with spina bifida, a spinal birth defect, and has no feeling in her lower extremities. She’s been in a wheelchair since grade school.
The condition seems hardly an obstacle for the always-on-the-go senior. She’s never shied away from fitting as much as she can into what continues to be less and less free time.
Smith once dabbled in tennis and basketball before deciding they weren’t for her. She was inspired to take up track in 2012 after watching American paralympian Tatyana McFadden, who was also born with spina bifida, win three gold medals at the Paralympic Games in London.
Not sure how to get started, Smith did some research online and discovered the Southwest Wheelchair Athletic Association. Through the organization, she met with track and field coach Paul Johnson, who outfitted her with a racing chair, free of charge, to use in practice and competition.
Smith has competed in each of the last two Texas Regional Games in San Antonio, where she recorded her qualifying scores for the state meet.
“I’m always trying to figure out what she’s going to do next,” said Jolene Smith, Brandi’s mother. “I’ve always told her if there’s something she wants to do, don’t let anyone tell her she can’t do it.”
Rowlett has enjoyed a proud track tradition throughout the past decade, highlighted by boys state championships in 2008 and 2009. Those teams were led by future Olympian and NFL wide receiver Marquise Goodwin.
Rowlett has sent at least one male or female athlete to the state meet in each of the last nine years – a streak that would have ended at eight without Smith’s qualification.
Rowlett track coach David Nanez broke the news of her qualification in front of the whole team to much applause last week. He also gave her a Rowlett uniform to wear for the first time.
She qualified for the 100 meters with a time of 23.90 seconds and the 400 meters in 2:10.93, both well below the qualification standards. Her shot put mark of 11 feet and ½ inch positions her third out of the four female qualifiers in the event.
“The kids on the team that work with her during the athletic period see someone with a disability that is doing this because she wants to be competitive,” Nanez said. “I’m hoping that rubs off on some of the kids.”
According to a 2012-13 report by the National Federation of State High School Associations, seven states offered programs for students with disabilities across 14 sports.
UIL assistant athletic director Traci Neely said the pilot program for a wheelchair event in Texas had long been discussed before its approval last fall. The response from schools and coaches generated by this year’s meet, she said, will dictate future modifications – if any – to the event.
Johnson hopes Smith and the inaugural field of the wheelchair division help spur greater interest in track and field. He said the most popular wheelchair sport in the area is basketball, thanks in part to the success of UT-Arlington’s program.
His hope is that once coaches become more aware of the opportunity for disabled kids, they’ll actively recruit wheelchair athletes to join their track teams.
Some athletes lack the equipment, which the SWAA will provide free of charge on loan. Others might be intimidated, Johnson said, but Smith and the first class at the state meet could change that.
“The important thing is that they put it out there and let people see it,” Johnson said. “Realize that the capability is there, and whatever we can do to whatever extent to help, we will.”
Smith is doing her part just by competing this weekend. And maybe she’ll take home a medal or three.
“I feel like I’m opening the doors for future athletes,” she said.
Breaking barriers
The inaugural group of wheelchair athletes at the 2014 UIL state track meet