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Standing Out in the Crowd

MAYVILLE - It's one thing to be a consistent member of the honor roll in high school.

It's another to be part of the Top 10 of your graduating class.

It's quite another altogether to reach that level of achievement in between trips across the country - and training with the United States National Team Developmental Program.

That's what Logan Howard, a senior at Chautauqua Lake Central School, has been able to accomplish.

Logan, the daughter of Bryan and Sandra Howard of Dewittville, took first place in her class in the United States Girls' Wrestling Association Women's Nationals competition in Ypsilanti, Mich., in March. She is currently ranked 10th in the nation in the USGWA's senior age group in the 55-kg weight class - impressive enough, but even more impressive when considering the senior group is for wrestlers aged 19 and up.

''A lot of it is on the breaks and weekends, but I do miss a lot of school,'' Logan said of the travel schedule that her competitions requires. ''They're excused absences, but it's hard because you to stay focused, and any free time is spent doing homework.''

''It's hard to balance, but wrestling teaches you dedication and gives you what you need to stay on track,'' Logan continued.''

Logan's dedication to wrestling has earned her invitations to U.S. Olympic training camps across the nation every year since she was 12 years old - earlier this month, she spent a week at the U.S. Olympic Committee's headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., attending a camp there. She has also attended camps over the years in locations including Lake Placid, N.Y., and Chula Vista, Calif. She has even traveled to Sweden with the U.S. Cadet National Team.

''I've stayed in the same dorm as Michael Phelps, who was just down the hall from us during our one camp,'' Logan said. ''You meet all the athletes, you learn all the different sports and coaches - you learn their work ethic.''

She plans to continue her education and wrestling career in the fall at King College in Bristol, Tenn., where she has been accepted into the honors program and has signed up to be part of the college's inaugural team of women wrestlers. The school is currently in the process of transitioning its athletic programs in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division II.

''They have a fully funded program,'' she said. ''I have my full tuition paid for through that.''

Logan also hopes to continue her coaching career, for which she is already bronze-level certified. She has coached at area tournaments as well as at nationals in Colorado.

''It's was funny, because for a while there, our coach - because he's just getting into girls' freestyle - had the same level of coaching as I did,'' she said. ''But, I mean, obviously he was way more experienced.''

While high school wrestling takes the form of what is called ''folkstyle,'' Logan will be wrestling freestyle for the rest of her career, as that is the form of wrestling for women in college and national and international tournaments.

Logan hopes to make the Junior National Women's Team and to be a College All-American. She also has an even bigger goal in her sights.

''The Olympics are within reach,'' she said. ''I think there are wrestlers (in the Olympics) who are in their late 20s and 30s, and some of them have even had kids. So there's plenty of time.''

Logan, a member of National Honor Society at CLCS, hopes to work as an elementary school teacher after college. She is getting some training in that field as a member of the Big Buddy Program at Chautauqua Lake, through which she helps elementary and middle schoolers by tutoring and providing a positive role model.

''I just love working with kids, coaching and everything,'' she said. ''The smiles on their faces make everything worth it.''

Logan has kept busy during her time at Chautauqua Lake as a member of the varsity wrestling, track, swimming and tennis teams; and as a member of the Spanish Club and High School Bowl team. She is a three-time winner of the school's Tom Drake Memorial 5K Run, and she volunteers time to help with Kristie's Kruise, which provides scholarships to Chautauqua Lake and Westfield students.

She is also a member of the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Dewittville Fire Hall, with whom she has helped put on dinners and put together Christmas baskets for the less fortunate.

The auxiliary's mission of helping others will turn toward Logan on June 6, when it will put on a spaghetti dinner to help raise funds for furthering her wrestling training and travels. Tickets for the dinner are $7 for adults, $4 for children aged 6 to 10, and free for children 5 and under. For more information, contact the Dewittville Fire Hall at 753-7231.

Logan, meanwhile, will be finishing out her senior year at Chautauqua Lake and doing what she can to maintain a level of excellence in class despite her busy extracurricular schedule.

''I definitely can't be afraid of staying after and working with the teachers,'' she said of how she manages to do it all. ''It's getting helping from other friends, being resourceful, and the Internet definitely helps a lot for communicating back and forth. But mostly I'm on my own, and what's really helped me is that I love reading - I read all the time. It gives be the background and something to grow off of.''

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If you have an area student you would like to recommend for Standing Out In The Crowd, contact Dave Emke at 487-1111, ext. 253 or demke@post-journal.com. This series of features highlights students who stand out both in the classroom and in their community.