Heaven Simon will be remembered as one of Central Valley High School's all-time greatest track and field athletes.
"It's pretty cool," said Simon, a 2015 graduate. "I enjoyed competing, setting and achieving goals, and being a part of a team. I had a lot of great coaches. They pushed me."
Simon started competing at the varsity level her freshman year.
She qualified for Masters for the third straight season. Heaven placed fourth in the 300 hurdles in a personal-best time of 44.07 seconds. She was named an alternate for the CIF State Meet.
"I'm proud I made it this far," Simon said. "I would have loved to run one last time and possibly get a PR. I'm hoping to do better in college."
Simon set PRs while successfully defending her 300-hurdles title (45.77) and finishing in first in the 400 (58.11) at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV-V Championships.
She took third in the 400 and fourth in the 300 hurdles as a sophomore.
She finished eighth in the 400 her freshman year.
Heaven won four individual titles at the Western Athletic Conference Championships this spring. She swept the 100 (13.09), 200 (27.05), 400 (59.59) and 300 hurdles (46.85).
Simon swept the 300 hurdles (48.53) and 400 (1:04.68) at the WAC Finals in 2014. She also ran a leg on the Hawks' winning 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.
She placed first in the 400 (1:03.35), and second in the 200 (26.60) and 300 hurdles (51.56) her sophomore year.
She finished first in the 400 (1:05.81), third in the 100 (13.35) and fifth in the 200 (28.36) as a freshman.
Simon talked about one of the sacrifices she made to make sure she was in tip-top shape for competition.
"Every time track and field starts, I changed my diet," Simon said. "That was my choice. I cut out carbohydrates and calories. I missed not being able to eat pizza and chocolate. I ate pizza for dinner right after Masters Finals."
Simon plans to continue her athletic career at the next level.
She visited Humboldt State in April.
Heaven will visit Fresno State this month and Cardinal Stritch University (Wisconsin) in July.
"I'm still undecided," Simon said. "I'll make my decision once I look at all of the colleges."
