By Aimee Edmondson
Staff Writer
Article dated July 24, 1993

With one daughter an Olympian and another a 1996 hopeful, Joe Howard has plenty of reasons to be proud.

Daughter Donna, a Glenn Hills High School standout and 1993 graduate, has dreams of making the 1996 Olympic track team. She plans to go to the games with her older sister Anita, who was an alternate for the 400-meter relay team in the 1992 Olympic games.

``I'm proud of them,'' Mr. Howard said. ``They say they're going to go together.''

The duo are gearing up to train together this fall at the University of Texas.

After a heated spring recruiting battle with more than 30 colleges interested in Donna, she accepted an athletic scholarship to Texas. She'll be working toward besting her own 400-meter times in hopes of qualifying for the games.

But by most standards, Donna's love for track came late.

``I started out running the 100 (meters), but I wasn't doing that great,'' Donna said. ``I was winning around here, but that was it.

``Then I switched to the 400 the summer after my junior year, and ever since then I've loved it. My confidence has really been boosted.''

She'll have the opportunity to run with her sister under the tutelage of Anita's coach, Beverly Kearny, who left the University of Florida to coach women's track for the Longhorns.

Anita will be graduating from Florida in August and will start working toward her master's degree at Texas.

Currently, Donna is one of 250 internationally ranked high school track stars. She set the Class AAA 400-meter state record with a time of 55 seconds, also winning the 200 meters with a time of 25.13 this past spring.

She just returned from Hampton, Va., where she took first place and broke the regional 400-meter record with a time of 55.39. Anita holds the record there in the 100- and the 200-meter events.

Donna's goal is to break 53 seconds in the 400. That should put her in good standing for the Olympics, she said.

``Gosh, I sure hope so,'' she said.