VALDOSTA —
In the midst of all the college football signings Wednesday, the young, blonde-haired student sat on the bleachers of the Lowndes High Gymnasium, surrounded by her family and friends, waiting for her moment.
Megan Charbeneau, the school’s most-dominant runner in recent history, was waiting for her time to sign her national letter of intent to the University of Georgia.
“Right now, I’m still in shock,” Charbeneau said. “To go into a great program like that, I know I can just get better and better. I know going up there will be really good.”
Once in Athens and on campus at UGA, Charbeneau will compete in cross country and track and field, specializing in long-distance running.
“When I get to Georgia, I’m going to run cross country and in track, I am probably going to focus on long-distance running, like the 5K,” Charbeneau said.
Her signing so important on Wednesday, head football coach — and athletic director — Randy McPherson put a stop to the football signings, allowing Charbeneau time to take her picture with family and the plethora of friends that came to support her moment. Charbeneau couldn’t stop smiling, even when she placed her red UGA hat onto her head.
“When I first moved her, I was really nervous,” Charbeneau said, “but this school was so welcoming and they were all so nice. I was just glad that I was able to fit right in.”
After moving down from south New Jersey to Lowndes County two years ago, after her father took a position with Wild Adventures, Charbeneau joined the cross country and track team at Lowndes High.
The move and her success was widely accepted by coach Antonio Wesley.
“She is a team player,” Wesley said. “Whatever we needed her to do, she did it.”
Immediately, her impact was felt.
Her junior year, Charbeneau won the Region 1-5A cross country championship. She followed it up a year later by winning six events her senior year, including the Region 1-6A championship in Tifton.
In state, Charbeneau finished 10th.
“I just think in South Georgia, it isn’t as hard as South Jersey,” Charbeneau said. “Once you get up to North Georgia, it gets kind of harder.”
In the 2012 track season, Charbeneau finished second in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:43.22. Now as the new track season approaches, Wesley said Charbeneau is prepared for another big year.
“We are in the second week of practice and she already looks good,” Wesley said. “She is healthy and ready to go.”
But what’s the key to running long distances? Charbeneau says it is all mental.
“I think it is more mental than physical,” Charbeneau said. “If you put your mind to it, you can do anything you want to. And when you are running, you really do have to have a good mind.”
Charbeneau chose the University of Georgia after visiting the school multiple times, even taking in a football game at UGA’s Sanford Stadium, which she described as “a very different experience” that she “loved every second of.”
A future business management or marketing major, Charbeneau said Georgia stood out to her because of its dedication to helping student-athletes succeed in athletics and in the classroom. The nice campus didn’t hurt, either.
“I didn’t know much about (UGA) before moving down her from Jersey,” Charbeneau said. “I like how the campus is spread out, but you can walk it and then there are buses you can jump on. I love the downtown. And in athletics, you have the Rankin Center and how they help you with all your classes.”
As she continues to improve on her running, Charbeneau will have to continue to deal with humidity, something she didn’t have to deal with during her time in New Jersey.
“The humidity was hard to get used to,” she said. “I’m good now, but it was hard to get used to.”
Top Sports News
Related Photos
-
Lowndes’ Megan Charbeneau (middle) signed a national letter of intent to the University of Georgia on Wednesday. Charbeneau will compete in cross country and track for the Bulldogs. Here, Charbeneau is joined by her parents Kristen and Greg Charbeneau (front), Rusty Jones, Jody Harbin and coaches Kip Burdette and Antonio Wesley. Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times
Discussion
Georgia bound: Lowndes’ Charbeneau signs with UGA cross country, track and field
- Top Sports News
-
-
VSU softball wins South Region, headed to nationals
For the third time in four years, and second in a row, Valdosta State’s softball team will play in the national championship tournament.
The Blazers won their third South Region championship Saturday, beating Alabama-Huntsville 8-3 in game three of the best-of-three series at Steel’s Diamond at Blazer Park. -
Pop Warner Football coming to Valdosta
Pop Warner Football is coming to Valdosta.
The nationally known organization that puts an emphasis on education and developing American youth has been established in the Valdosta area and will begin playing football this August. -
Vikings commit 4 errors, fall to Roswell, 5-2
The small things matter in baseball, especially in a winner-take-all game three.
On Wednesday, Lowndes’ baseball team made too many mistakes on the little things. The Vikings committed four errors that led to five Roswell runs and were eliminated in the Class AAAAAA state playoffs with a 5-2 loss to the Hornets. -
VSU wins 7th GSC Men’s All-Sports Trophy
Look out Title Town, another trophy is coming to town.
Valdosta State’s athletic department was awarded a seventh Gulf South Conference Men’s All-Sports Trophy Tuesday, sharing the honor with West Florida.
The tie between VSU and West Florida marked the first time in the GSC’s 42-year history that a pair of schools shared the honor. Both schools finished the athletic season with 29.5 points, based on the conference’s point system that gauges athletic success. -
VSU softball beats Tampa, 12-6, to host Super Regional
Kiley Rusen picked a good time to have a career breakout day for the Valdosta State softball team. Slugging her first-career home run and triple, while driving in six runs, Rusen led the charge as the Blazers routed Tampa 12-6 to advance to a second straight NCAA South Super Regional Tournament.
-
Vikings sweep Alcovy
Cory Pope gave the Lowndes Vikings everything they needed in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Alcovy Tigers. Then in game two, Lowndes’ offense came alive and provided plenty of support as the Vikings swept Alcovy 2-0 and 8-1 in the second round of the Class AAAAAA state playoffs at Noel George Field.
With the sweep, the Vikings advance to the Elite 8 — the state quarterfinals — where they will face either Roswell or Mill Creek, who will meet in a doubleheader today in Hoschton, on Tuesday. -
Berrien girls’ tennis in Final Four
It’s been quite the year for the Berrien girls’ tennis program. And today, the Rebels will try to make their season even better.
After clinching a school-record 20th win in the Elite 8 of the Class AA state playoffs Thursday with a 3-1 win over state-power Bleckley County, the Berrien girls will make the schools’ third all-time appearance in the Final Four when they host Westminster today at 3 p.m. in Nashville. -
VSU softball wins record fifth straight GSC championship
Valdosta State’s softball team claimed a record fifth straight Gulf south Conference tournament championship Sunday evening, erasing a 3-run deficit to beat archrival Alabama-Huntsville 4-3 in the championship game in Southaven, Miss.
The Blazers (41-10) became the first school in GSC-history to win five straight championships, a half-decade of dominance throughout the double-elimination tournament. -
Blazers erase 4-run deficit, knock off DSU in 10th
Valdosta State scored six unearned runs, including two in the bottom of the 10th inning, to defeat No. 2 Delta State 6-5 in the second day of play at the Taziki's Gulf South Conference Tournament Friday evening.
With the win, Valdosta State has now won 23 of its last 27 games and will face West Alabama in the winner’s bracket of the GSC tournament today at 1 p.m. The winner will advance to the GSC championship series. -
VSU’s Albritton named GSC Player of Year
Courtney Albritton terrorized the Gulf South Conference as a freshman in 2012. She did it again in 2013.
The sophomore from Sycamore was named the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year Wednesday, an honor that was bestowed upon her as a freshman for the Valdosta State softball team last year. - More Top Sports News Headlines
-
