Blind High School Track Star is Not Slowing Down

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Thornton Fractional South's Jhaliyah Anderson is a budding track athlete and choir singer who is not letting her loss of sight hold her back. Photo courtesy of John J. Watkins of the Times, NWI
Thornton Fractional South's Jhaliyah Anderson is a budding track athlete and choir singer who is not letting her loss of sight hold her back. Photo courtesy of John J. Watkins of the Times, NWI

Thornton Fractional South High School (T.F. South) student Jhaliyah Anderson, has been blind since she was 3-years-old when she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer but, that hasn't stopped her from living a cheerful, full life. The sophomore actively competes on T.F. South's track team as a sprinter, and sings in the school choir. In other words, Anderson is no different from any other teenager.

"She does all the normal teenage stuff, she likes to go shopping, go to the mall, [and go to] parties, she's a social butterfly," Jhaliyah's mother, Sonya Anderson, told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper. "With everything that you hear going on at these high schools it puts your mind at ease to know that she has friends and no one is bothering her and she can get around like everybody else."

Anderson, who is the youngest of three children originally competed at Illinois' School for the Visually Impaired in Jacksonville, IL until she decided she wanted to take on the challenge of competing at a public school.

"It was impromptu," Anderson said. "I wanted to go out for something. I ran at the Illinois School of the Visually Impaired (in Jacksonville), where I went from fifth through eighth grades. I wanted to see if I could run in a public school."

Anderson now competes in the 100-meter dash and the long jump for T.F. South's junior varsity team.

"A lot of the [opposing] coaches have been very supportive, just astonished that she's even out there, [they're] really impressed. I've never had any negative experience [with Anderson]," Steve Nelson, T.F. South's girl's track team head coach, told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper.

Nelson believes that Anderson can potentially become a solid 200-meter sprinter and a long jumper.

Richard Tarbunas, T.F. South's assistant girl's track coach, has been training Anderson on the long jump.

"This year was a good year to get the basics down as far as how she would be able to go about jumping because she has never actually run down a runway and jumped before, this is the first time she's done an approach then a jump," said Tarbunas.

To ensure that Anderson is running straight down the long jump runway, Tarbunas claps his hands to ensure that she is running straight and taking off on the long jump board on her right foot to ensure she has the best jump.

While running the 100-meter dash Anderson holds the hand of her teammate Jasmine Scott.

"We sometimes break (apart), but not too often," Scott said. "We have really worked at it and Jhaliyah is pretty fast, so I have to keep up with her."

Anderson runs with a partner to ensure that she stays in her lane during races. Anderson's partner runs on the inside of Anderson, serving as a buffer between her and the rest of the field but eventually, Anderson will run with a tether to the lead runner for guidance.

"An outstanding student" is how how Exceptional Children Have Opportunities (ECHO) T.F. South instructor, Jessica Duer, describes Anderson. Duer helps Anderson with mobility and brail lessons and said that Anderson is an excellent student who attends all of the mainstream classes all the other students attend.

"Academically she is exceeding typical standards, I believe her GPA right now is a 3.7. She will only grow as her high school career continues," Duer said.

Anderson came in second place in her last 100-meter dash competition.

By Lee Edwards

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