THE NEBRASKA 100

Nancy Kindig-Malone has several "flashbulb memories'' -- moments in her athletic career that stand out because of their emotional intensity.

There's the standing ovation she received after beating the Russians in the pentathlon at a Junior Olympic national meet in Lincoln.

Or the crowd's reaction when the senior returned to the state track meet after breaking her leg in a relay earlier that day. Hobbling, she anchored her team to gold.

There's her induction into the Nebraska high school sports hall of fame.

Kindig-Malone said she didn't realize the importance of her biggest triumphs until the audience reacted. She was competing for fun, she said, not for recognition or records.

She won several gold medals at state in the long jump, hurdles and relays, but it wasn't until she started getting scholarship offers from UCLA, Iowa and NU that she realized she might be good. Later, she won many Big Eight heptathlon and pentathlon titles at Nebraska.

Kindig-Malone, now a teacher and coach at Fillmore Central, also won a Class C state basketball title in 1977. She said she and her teammates had threatened in a petition to switch to Hastings High after hearing that St. Cecilia wasn't going to field a team. They promised they'd win state.

"We had to win because we had said we would,'' she said.

-- Marjie Ducey