Senior Spotlight: ‘She can do anything she puts her mind to’

Editor’s note: This article is part of a recurring series on local high school athletes who had their seasons cut short or canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

SANDPOINT — Makayla Chapman missed out on making it to state in the shot put by inches the past two years.

This season was supposed to be Chapman’s year to shine and all signs were pointing toward that happening, but the world had different plans.

However, Chapman hasn’t let the disappointment of a canceled season slow her down. She’s been using the extra time to work more hours at Dub’s Drive In and be more active with her family. Plus she has a bright future ahead of her.

Chapman will be heading to North Idaho College this fall to begin her journey toward an environmental engineering degree. Malia Meschko, the 3D Design teacher at SHS, had Chapman in her class all four years and recommended the school to the graduating senior.

Meschko said NIC has a great program that will help Chapman break through in a male-dominated field and get on-the-job experience right away.

Meschko saw Chapman’s interest in engineering take off when they started studying it in class and over the past year she developed a passion for the environment.

Chapman said she wants to focus on developing technological advancements that don’t harm the environment and help make the world a better place to live.

Meschko isn’t surprised Chapman wants to make a difference and she is convinced that nothing can stop her from reaching her goals.

“She’s got all the qualities to be successful in the field, that’s for sure,” Meschko said. “She can do anything she puts her mind to.”

Chapman said Meschko helped her figure out what she wants to do with her life and she doesn’t know what she would be doing without her.

“She’s been my guiding light through these four years of high school,” Chapman said. “She’s just really been there for me and she’s been one of those people I look up to.”

Meschko said Chapman was an excellent student that was always willing to attend trainings and conferences in the area outside of school hours when she suggested them.

“She’s really taken on her future education without a lot of prompting for me,” Meschko said. “I’ve never really seen her get rattled before."

Meschko added that Chapman never jumps to conclusion, is a great leader and is attentive and thorough in everything that she does.

“She is a methodical thinker,” Meschko said. “She doesn’t just see something and go, ‘I know what that is,’ she really looks at the problems and comes up with viable options and solutions.”

That attention to detail and work ethic translated to the track when Chapman decided to take up the sport in eighth grade. In that first season, Chapman did the 100-meter, long jump and shot put.

Chapman initially joined the track team to build closer connections with her friends but it transformed into something much more.

“Before that I had never known what shot and discus was, but I’m really glad I decided to take that chance and do track that year,” she said.

In middle school, Chapman quickly realized how good she could be at shot put so once she reached high school she focused all her attention on shot and discus.

Shot put is where Chapman excelled the most during her high school career. Most people think shot takes strength, but in order to be the best you need great footwork and technique and that’s what Chapman enjoyed the most. She liked making tweaks here and there to improve her throws and it showed on the track.

Throws coach Ryan Knowles said sometimes Chapman would get frustrated when she didn’t nail her throwing motion to perfection, which showed just how competitive she was with herself.

“She’s hard on herself,” he said. “I’d always have to pump her up a little bit because she always expected more out of herself.”

Knowles said Chapman was all in when track season rolled around and she did whatever she could to lift up her teammates.

“She makes the people around her better,” he said. “The sky was the limit for her.”

Chapman said the supportive environment around the track team made showing up to practice every day worth it.

“Being on the track team is different than other sports because in a sense you have to compete against your own teammates as well,” she said. “I think that makes us stronger as a team because we all know that we have to compete against each other, but instead of letting that put a rift in between us, we just encouraged each other more.”

Chapman was also a member of the SHS basketball as a sophomore and junior and was super active in 4-H. She was even the 2019-2020 Bonner County Fair Queen.

Two memories stick out in Chapman’s mind when she looks back at her high school career. The first is when she broke 30 feet in the shot put for the first time at districts as a sophomore and the second came earlier this year when she traveled to New York for the U.S. Model United Nations meeting.

Chapman is thankful for the teachers at SHS that got her where she is today.

“It was just a really positive place to be,” she said.

Knowles expects Chapman to do big things.

“She always has a smile on her face and she’s a real pleasure to have around,” he said. “She’s going to do well at whatever she does because of her positive attitude.”

In her own words: Makayla Chapman

“I’d like to thank my family for always being supportive of me! I’m so grateful that they always made an effort to come to every single one of my events and they always cheered me on no matter how well I did! Through all the good and bad times my parents were always there for me, their love and support has helped shape me into the person I am today! I would also like to thank my couches for teaching me perseverance and always encouraging me to do my best and keep improving. I would not have been as successful as I was without their support and knowledge! I also want to thank all my friends and teammates for all the wonderful memories I have been able to share with them! Being able to form relationships with my teammates and my friends has taught me that it’s important to cherish every moment of my life and the importance of appreciating those who have supported me. Last but not least, I want to thank the community for making Sandpoint such a wonderful place to have spent my childhood!”