Virgen: Sharon Day a name to remember

How great is Sharon Day-Monroe?

Think of the greatest athletes to come from the Newport-Mesa Unified School District; she’s among the best. She is the greatest athlete out of Costa Mesa High, where she was known as Sharon Day. Because she competes and succeeds in the heptathlon, perhaps the most demanding competition in the Olympics for females, I think of Sharon as the greatest female athlete to come out of the NMUSD.

She is aiming to make her third straight Olympics this weekend in Eugene, Ore., site of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials. Very impressive.

How great is Sharon Day?

I believe Costa Mesa High’s new stadium should be named after her. Yes, call it: Sharon Day Stadium.

Think about it as she attempts to punch her ticket as a heptathlete to the Rio Olympics. She begins her quest Saturday at 12:30 p.m. when she competes in the 100-meter hurdles. She is the No. 2 seed in the heptathlon, but we can consider her the favorite. The top three finishers qualify for Team USA to go to the Olympics.

There is at least one name, Ed Baume, that has been formally petitioned to have the stadium named after him. I’m not here to start an argument. Baume was a beloved volunteer. At the very least, Sharon should be considered among the names for the new stadium.

Years from now, I can picture children and high school students wanting to know about the name of the stadium, and then feeling pride that Sharon came from that school.

She finished 16th in the heptathlon at the 2012 Olympics. It seems 16th in anything doesn’t sound impressive. But that’s 16th in the world in that crazy demanding heptathlon.

If you ask me, she was amazing in high school, and phenomenal in college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Do you know of any other NMUSD athletes who have qualified for three straight Olympics in track and field?

Maybe if the new stadium is named after someone as great as Sharon, the NMUSD and the community will work together to make it one of the best in Orange County.

Sharon always wanted to be the best. It’s that competitive spirit that always set her apart.

“Tenacity,” Eugene Day said, giving the reason why his daughter has accomplished so much as an athlete.

Eugene, who was en route to Eugene, Ore. on Thursday, coached Sharon throughout her childhood.

“Ever since she was a little girl, she was always competitive,” said Eugene, who is the jumps coach at Villa Park High. “In everything she does now, she is competitive and remains tenacious.”

I didn’t tell Eugene about my idea that Costa Mesa’s new stadium should be named after Sharon, but he gave me another reason why it should.

Back when Sharon attended Costa Mesa High (Class of 2003) she was among the elite in the county, rather, the state. You don’t think Mater Dei wanted her to come to be a Monarch?

Mater Dei coveted Sharon’s athleticism, Eugene said. She was also a soccer star and a strong competitor in girls’ volleyball.

“Sharon was happy at Costa Mesa,” Eugene said. “She loved her friends, and the teachers were great.”

So many people gripe about how athletes leave their home public school for a private school because of sports. Here’s one who stayed and was great. She won two CIF State titles in the high jump. She was CIF Southern Section Division III Offensive Player of the Year in soccer after leading the Mustangs to a division co-championship. And, she was league MVP in volleyball and track and field, leading Costa Mesa to Golden West League titles in both sports.

For as great as she was in track and field, she was absolutely brilliant in soccer. She finished with 83 goals, 71 assists and 57 wins during her four-year varsity career.

Sharon was just outstanding. What I enjoyed most about her was that she didn’t back down from anyone.

Coach Bill Sumner knows this. For the past 33 years he has been coaching cross country and track and field at Corona del Mar High.

He said Sharon is the greatest female track and field athlete ever from the NMUSD. And an argument can be made that she is the area’s greatest female athlete.

He regards Liz Morse among his greatest track athletes at CdM. He remembers how Sharon, even as a freshman, always wanted to compete in the same events as Liz, when Liz was a senior.

It was just Sharon being Sharon.

Sharon Day-Monroe’s schedule at the U.S. Olympic Trials

Saturday: 12:30 p.m. (100-meter Hurdles); 1:30 (high jump); 3:30 (shotput); 4:40 (200 meters).

Sunday: 1:45 p.m. (long jump); 2:45 (javelin); 4:11 (800 meters).

How to watch: Live streaming at www.nbcolympics.com.