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State Gazette Girls Track Athlete of the Year: Dyer County Lady Choctaw Anitra Honore
Monday, July 8, 2024
Dyer County Lady Choctaw Anitra Honore
JASON PEEVYHOUSE
With her junior season showing continued improvement on the way to a Region 7AA Championship in shot put as well as a third straight trip to the TSSAA Class AA State Track Meet, Dyer County Lady Choctaw thrower Anitra Honore has been named the State Gazette Girls Track Athlete of the Year for the 2023-24 school year.
Dyer County Track Head Coach Justin Burns said Honore was the team’s star athlete this season as she finished sixth in the state for the third straight season.
“Her expectations every year are past state,” Burns explained. “She goes to that every year.
“She is going to really try to get into the top four in the state – not just qualify for the state.”
After being runner-up the past two seasons in the West AA Sectional Finals, Honore broke through during her junior year and won her first individual region championship with a throw of 33’7’’.
“That was really good for her, just watching her kind of grow,” the Dyer County head coach said. “Placing second as a freshman and a sophomore then taking this step this past year in being the sectional champion.
“I really think that she was proud of herself for that. I really think that shows her work ethic.”
Still, reaching the state meet in each of the three years of her high school career already has raised the bar above anything but finishing higher at state.
“I think that not only raises it for her but it is a bar for her to not only get better each year,” Burns explained. “There’s only one in each classification that wins a state championship in her event each year.
“She’s trying to get to that bar and I think she will eventually get to that top echelon.”
There’s an old adage which says success can be contagious. Burns said he can see Honore’s strong seasons helping to inspire her teammates.
“I really think it raises the caliber for our entire team,” the Dyer County head coach said. “They see the ones going to state so they really work for it.
“It raises the bar for everybody.”
With two state meet trips under her belt following her first two seasons at the high school level, Burns said he continued to see improvement in his junior thrower.
“She improved the most in her form,” Burns explained. “She really worked on her form and in kind of correcting things that she has been working on.
“This year, she put a real emphasis on that. Working using her legs to launch and it’s really showed.”
One thing Honore brings to the team is that she is a really good motivator.
“And, not only for herself but for other people on the team,” Burns pointed out. “Not just for the throwers but the runners and everybody else.
“She’s a really good motivator for all of them and it motivates her to be the best.”
For the third straight state track meet, Honore finished in sixth place. Of her four throws at Murfreesboro in May, her highest was for 33’2’’. This was an increase of eight inches from her high throw the previous state meet.
The postseason success came after a strong regular season which saw the Lady Choctaw open the season with a fourth-place finish at Union City in March. After that, it was all Anitra as Honore placed first in the next seven regular season meets where she competed. In the final regular season meet, she threw for a season-high of 35’5’’. This throw was just two inches shy of the school record she set during her sophomore season.
Honore, now a two-time State Gazette Girls Track Athlete of the Year, is heading into her senior season and will be looking to improve on her finishes at the state level.
“I know that has kind of eaten at her,” Burns admitted. “I know that we’re going to shoot for anything better than sixth.
“That’s the goal there.”
Burns added he knows Honore wants to be in the top portion of the throwers at state.
“I really think that she can get there,” Burns said.