Even though she’s just going to be a junior this coming fall, Mary Carden has already shown that she is girl of many talents. She plays basketball, runs track and is in the band. She started basketball and band at a K-8 school where the basketball team went to middle school state her seventh and eighth grade years. On the music side, things came a little more naturally.

“Music runs in our family, and it wasn’t hard for me to pick up an instrument and play it,” said Carden who plays the tuba and sousaphone in the marching band and the bass trombone in the jazz band. She is also on the academic team, student council, Key Club, National Honor Society and Eco Club as well as having a part-time job. But the track side of it?  That’s a different story.

“Last year we were looking for a female thrower for track, “said Idabel throwing coach John Harjo, “and Mary came to us and said she had thrown the shot put and discus some in middle school but wasn’t very good at it. So we watched her throw and let her believe that for a while,” Harjo chuckled.

That year they concentrated on the shot put and she threw in just a couple of meets but ended up being the regional champ.

“Going to state that year was kind of scary. I was just a freshman and hadn’t thrown much and really didn’t know what to expect,” said Mary.

So this year after basketball, which ran a little long because the Lady Warriors went to state, they added the discus.

“I told them I really don’t know how, and the coach said just step back and let it fly and that’s what I did, and I’ve loved it ever since.”

So much so that she became the regional champ in discus this year while finishing second in the shot.

“This year at state was a lot better having been there last year, but I was still a little nervous because this year I was also throwing the disc as well as the shot.”

And that extra year of work paid off as Mary finished second in the discus and sixth in the shot put at the Class 3A state meet.

She’s been able to accomplish this in track despite just really competing at it for a season and a half and not throwing at all during the off-season.

“We’ve really encouraged her to throw some during the summer and fall and I think she will,” said Harjo. “At 6’6” she has the physique and the natural ability to do really well throwing. I think she has the ability to throw in college if she wants to and I think she’ll turn a lot of heads next spring.”

Good character also figures into the mix for Mary.

“I think the main traits of good character are having integrity, being humble and selflessness,” said the junior-to-be.