MALE
Wade Rankin, Columbus North senior baseball player
Rankin went 3 for 3 with an RBI in a 12-1 win against Franklin Central. Saturday, he went 1 for 3 with an RBI in a 9-3 loss at Roncalli.
His performance last week: “I just come out and give 100 percent. You always want to do better than you actually do, but I’m pretty pleased with the way the whole team played.”
Do you do anything special to prepare? “Away games, I usually sleep on the bus ride. Home games, I usually just go out to center field at the 380 (feet) sign and pray before every game. I feel like that really helps me out and gives me strength to perform.”
Favorite drink: “Big Red or water”
Favorite food: “My mom’s turkey manhattan”
Favorite book: “The Outsiders”
Favorite class: “Math. I’m good with numbers”
Role model: “My dad (Nate Rankin) and my grandpa (Kenny Rankin)”
Best advice: “The game is all mental. I started off struggling at the beginning of the year, and I kept my mental side strong. You can always be a good teammate, but not always the best player. Be the best person that you can.”
Athletics goal: “I met my goal of playing in college (at Kankakee Community College). I’m going to a JUCO (junior college), so I’d like to move on to a bigger university.”
If you could travel anywhere: “I’d like to go to the Bahamas. I like the beach, but I’ve never been there.”
FEMALE
Megna Chari, Columbus East sophomore tennis player
Chari went 3-0 at No. 1 singles last week, winning all three matches in straight sets. She beat opponents from Greensburg, Whiteland and Plainfield.
Her performance last week: “I think I played pretty strong. I worked on my shots and consistency.”
Do you do anything special to prepare? “I just spend time with my team, and we just hang out and we do stretches in warmups and we hit as if we’re in a match.”
Favorite drink: “Milk”
Favorite food: “Pasta”
Favorite book: “I just read everything, basically”
Favorite class: “Science, like anatomy and chemistry”
Role model: “My parents (Srikanth Padmanabhan and Usha Raghavan).”
Best advice: “Be myself and play my game.”
Athletics goal: “I’m hoping for the team to go further along (in the postseason) than we did last year.”
If you could travel anywhere: “Probably Africa. It sounds cool, especially the safari.”
