Chelsea High junior Stephanie Simon continues to dominate the girls’ track season and will compete at the National Championship meet in New York this weekend. When she’s not competing, Simon can often be found skateboarding through Chelsea’s streets.
The 16-year-old jumper, runner and hurdler regularly sets and breaks school records. Her coaches suggest that the record books may be best left incomplete until after her graduation.
Simon comes from an athletic family. Her sister Martine is the only runner to have defeated her in competition. This indoor season, Simon has focused on jumping events and accumulated numerous victories.
Her recent achievements include first place in the Division 2 state long jump and second place at the New England Championship meet. At the multi-state Dartmouth Relays earlier this year, she won both the long jump and high jump.
This weekend marks her second consecutive year traveling to New York City for the National Championship indoor meet.
Around Chelsea, residents might spot a young woman performing tricks on a skateboard—that could very well be Stephanie Simon.
“When I’m not training or practicing, I like
to ride a penny board,” she said. “I ride it everywhere, even to school. I
think that’s why I can jump. I think that’s something every jumper has to have
to be successful and that is being able to take a risk. You have to be willing
to take a risk to throw yourself in a pit of sand or give it everything you
have to flop up and over the high jump bar. It’s the adrenaline I like.”
Hubert and Mathilde Simon, who immigrated from Haiti, are Stephanie’s parents. Her older brother Norbert and sister Martine, who graduated last year, both excelled in track. Her younger brother Emanuel shows promise in the 200 sprint, according to Simon.
Simon’s education includes attendance at the Early Learning Center, the Berkowitz School, and Clark Avenue Middle School before enrolling at Chelsea High, where she maintains a 3.4 grade point average and participates in academic activities.
Her composed nature likely stems from the discipline required on the track. While she performs well in sprint events at conference meets, Simon has discovered that jumping—whether high jump, long jump, or triple jump—demands careful control.
“Adrenaline is good for running, but for
jumping you have to kind of put it in a bottle and use it to motivate you and
counter it with technique,” she said. “For jumping and sprints, unlike distance
running, it’s half mental and half physical.”
This quality will prove valuable when she competes at the New York City Armory this weekend alongside her coach, Cesar Hernandez. Last year’s national meet was her first, and she found the experience overwhelming.
“Last year, stepping into that building was
so overwhelming,” she said, noting that no Chelsea runner since Bobby Goss decades ago has competed at nationals. “Every runner there was
working hard and wanted to win. I didn’t do so well, but it made me even more
determined to do better at the national outdoor meet in North Carolina last
spring and I did.”
The Dartmouth Relays earlier this year triggered similar feelings, but Simon managed to overcome them—a skill she plans to employ when returning to New York this week.
“I told myself it’s the same events and the
same sand,” she said. “I was able to recover and move on.”
Notably, Simon did not begin running until high school, unlike many elite runners who start in grade school.
“My freshman year I didn’t even run that
first season,” she said. “I liked soccer. I was able to make varsity my
freshman year. In the winter, I played basketball. Then I did outdoor track and
I was really good at it. In track, there was so much support and it was like a
big family. My freshman year I was trying to figure everything out. Everyone
kept telling me I had more potential in track. I listened to them and I’m glad
I stayed.”
Simon credits Coach Hernandez with her continued improvement as both a runner and jumper. Though she possessed natural talent, Hernandez developed her technique and encouraged her to move beyond relying solely on athleticism.
“If he wasn’t my coach, I would not be doing
what I’m doing,” she said. “He fits the kind of coach I need.”
Her teammates have also provided crucial support throughout her athletic career.
Simon has likewise acknowledged her family’s pride in her academic and athletic accomplishments.
“In our family,
everyone has their thing they are best at,” she said. “I guarantee I win at
track.”