Fenton High sophomore Molly Katic was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age causing her to have difficulty maintaining balance and coordinating muscles. However, this does not stop her from participating in sports.
This track season, the Michigan High Athletic Association created adaptive track events for athletes like Molly to race in. According to mhsaa.com, they have provided a program for wheelchair bound track and field athletes to participate in the 100M dash, 200M dash, 400M dash and shotput.
“Molly’s wheelchair is called Top End Eliminator, it is a racing chair,” Molly’s Coach and father Todd Katic added. “It weighs about 10 pounds and costs about $6,000 and it is loaned to Molly through charity.”
At the Flint Metro League (FML) Championship Meet on May 10, Katic raced against another wheelchair-bound athlete from Flushing High and won in the 100M dash.
“It feels really good to race against other athletes,” Molly Katic said. “I race the 100 and 200 meter dash. My personal record (PR) in the 100 meter is 33.86 and my PR in the 200 meter is 1:19.62.”
As the season progressed, Katic continued to PR and qualified for the state meet which will be held at Kentwood High on June 1.
“As her coach, we train to be as fast as possible,” Todd said. “As her dad, I just want her to have an opportunity to be included. An invitation to race is not the same as being included. Oftentimes, meets let her roll but do not count her points, or award her medals, or even announce her performance. That’s the biggest thing that needs to change.”
Many would agree that Molly’s passion and dedication towards sports is truly admirable; she plans to continue to participate in track and field for the rest of her high school career.
