State Fair Community College freshman Sam Queathem enjoyed a memorable trip to Hobbs, N.M., on May 18-20.

The 2022 Montgomery County graduate flew to the New Mexico town to compete in the National Junior College Athletics Association Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. It was the first time she flew on an airplane.

Queathem flew out of Hobbs as an all-American javelin thrower. She finished seventh with a throw of 124 feet, 8 inches to earn a medal at the national meet, which was held at New Mexico Junior College.

A year ago, Queathem received all-state notice for the MCHS track team by placing fifth in the javelin at the Class 3 state meet in Jefferson City. She said she was happy to add an all-American medal to her growing trophy case.

“It was definitely something I’ll never forget,” Queathem said.

The trip to nationals was the biggest highlight of Queathem’s busy freshman year at State Fair. She also competed in basketball and softball at the Sedalia school.

“Basketball season didn’t go the greatest, softball was all right, but track was really the most unexpected and it turned out to be the best,” Queathem said. “I’m going back next year to throw again, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Last winter, Queathem played in 27 games for the State Fair women’s basketball team. She averaged three points per game and had an 11-point effort against the Haskell Indian Nations University junior varsity team. The Roadrunners finished 13-16.

This spring, Queathem competed in 17 games for the softball squad. She hit .256 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. In a game against Missouri State University-West Plains, Queathem hit a home run and four RBIs.

Queathem didn’t plan on competing in track until she had a conversation with State Fair track coach Brad Hagedorn at the school’s cafeteria.

“He asked me about throwing javelin and I told him what I threw in high school,” Queathem said. “So he asked me to come practice.”

Queathem competed in her first meet on April 22 at Culver-Stockton College and qualified for nationals by placing first in the javelin with a 129-7.

At nationals, Queathem threw a 124-8 on her first attempt to clinch a spot on the awards podium. She competed on the final day of nationals, which was May 20.

“Their whole facility was on turf, so we threw the javelin on turf, which was a new one,” said Queathem, who was one of four State Fair athletes competing at nationals. “It was really cool.”

Hagedorn said he was thrilled to see Queathem get all-American honors in her freshman year.

“We are very proud of Sam’s accomplishment at the national championships,” he said. “She was an exceptional addition to our team this spring and look forward to having her compete for us next year.”

Queathem competed in basketball, softball and track at MCHS. In her senior year, she was an all-Eastern Missouri Conference performer in all three sports.

Queathem said she enjoyed the experience of playing three sports at State Fair.

“My dad always told me that I have to be thankful for the opportunity,” Queathem said. “Not many people get to play college sports, much less to play multiple sports in college. So he said, ‘Just go have fun and do your best.’ That’s what I did.”

Next year, Queathem will compete in only track. She wants to concentrate on her school work as she was accepted to State Fair’s nursing program.

“State Fair has the No. 1 nursing program in Missouri and they have a two-year nursing program,” Queathem said. “So after this year, I will graduate with my LPN license. I’ll go back for one more year and I’ll graduate with my RN license to become a registered nurse. Basically, I’ll have so many job opportunities that I wouldn’t know what to do with them. So I’m going to take it from there and see what my best option is. I know that God has a plan, so I’ll just trust in His plan. It’s been crazy, but everything has been working out for me.”