MHS Senior Feature: Libby Jaques

 

 

Libby Jaques showed up to Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City, picked up a metal ball weighing 8.8 pounds and heaved it 44’4” to win a Class 6A state track and field championship.

 

By more than two feet.

 

That was in early May, about two months after the Moore High School junior decided to take up the shot put.

 

After winning the event, Jaques (pronounced Jay-Q’s) hugged throwing coach Jared Hidlebaugh and started to cry.

 

Except they were not tears of joy.

 

“She was the first person that I ever coached who cried and was upset and was mad who won a state championship,” said Hidlebaugh, who left after 10 years at Moore High to coach in Weatherford. “Because she was pushing for a state record.”

 

Jaques, who also competed in the 200- and 1,600-meter relay but did not medal, had set three goals for herself that week­end: win a state title, break the school record — which she did by 3 feet —and break the state mark.

 

Not accomplishing all three stuck in her craw.

 

Jaques, who also stars for the Lions in softball and basketball, is as competitive and athletic as they come, according to her coaches.

 

“I’ve been doing this for 19 years and Libby is probably the most athletic girl I’ve ever coached or ever seen,” Hidlebaugh said. “She’s physically and mentally gifted. She’s mentally tough, focused and driven.”

Jaques was raised with two older brothers in an athletic family. Both of her parents were college athletes. Dad played football and mom played softball at Texas A&M University – Kingsville in south Texas.

 

It’s where oldest brother Blake, 21, is a junior defensive end for the Javelinas. Her other brother, Austin, 19, just completed his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma, where he plays tuba in the Pride of Oklahoma marching band.

 

“My parents always said to set goals and set them big,” she said. “My brothers did, and it worked for them.”

 

Growing up, Jaques learned how to compete by playing sports with her brothers who didn’t take it easy on her.

 

“I always wanted to be better than them,” she said. “I always tried to beat them at anything they did.”

When she was 3, she complained to her parents that her older brothers got to play sports, but she didn’t.

“So, they put me in T-ball,” she recalled. “I threw a little rant and got thrown in T-ball. And then basketball. And then soccer.”

 

Rachel Jaques tried to tell her daughter she was too young for sports, but Libby wasn’t buying it.

 

“She went out in the yard with a bat, ball and a tee and said, ‘watch me, I can do it,’” Rachel said. “And she’s been doing it ever since.”

 

And doing it quite well.

 

Jaques, a right fielder who plays some first base, starred for the Lions, who finished the softball season 32-4 and lost in the first round of the state tournament. She hit .459 with 15 home runs, 52 runs batted in, 55 runs scored, 18 stolen bases and a 1.041 slug­ging percentage, and was voted Oklahoma’s top fast pitch play­er, COAC Player of the Year, and 6A District 2 Player of the Year.

 

“Libby is a very athletic young lady. She carries herself with a presence. She exudes confidence,” softball coach Stephanie Riley said.

 

The Oklahoma State University softball commit also is a great teammate, Riley said.

“Libby not only works hard herself, but she is also there to help her teammates,” she said. “She picks people up and she puts in extra reps if her teammates ask her for help. She takes that time to be with them.”

In basketball, Jaques averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds over 26 games for Moore to earn second-team all-conference and all-district honors.

 

“Libby bleeds leadership and competitiveness and heart,” bas­ketball coach Britney Kannady said.

“You rarely find that all mixed together in a female athlete at the high school level.

 

“Not only is she an amazing athlete, but she is also an amazing person with great morals and work ethic. I would trust her babysitting my own child because she’s just a great young woman.”

 

For Jaques, down time is a rarity. There’s always something to do, something to accomplish.

 

“I feel like I put in a lot of work,” she said. “I try to work out two to three times a week and I’m always going from practice to practice.

 

“I love staying busy and active. It’s a lot of fun and it keeps me entertained. I don’t really get to sit around that long.”

 

Despite all the accolades, Jaques stays humble and remains committed to her athletic pursuits as her senior year approaches.

 

“She’s very confident. But at the same time, I don’t know that she lets it go to her head because she always has big goals she’s working on and towards,” Rachel Jaques said. “She sets her goals so high that she can’t possibly reach them every sea­son, so she’s always got stuff she’s working on. She wants to be the state champ in softball, basketball and track. It doesn’t matter.”

 

Jaques’ favorite subject is anatomy, and she wants to be a pe­diatric nurse or an occupational therapist like her mom after col­lege. For now, though, she’s working to get even better at each of her sports.

Travel softball is dominating her summer schedule through the end of July, including visits to St. Louis, Kansas City, Colorado and Indiana.

“I still have more work to do,” she said. “There’s always room to improve. I feel like if you give me some good coaches and let me put my head down and work, I can accomplish anything.” – SMS