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Lopez finds success inside herself

Monday, May, 12 By Alan Siegel
Staff writer

Who's that girl lighting up the game tape? Was that Karina Lopez?

"Everybody," Lawrence girls basketball coach Dan Blouin said, "thought it was somebody else."

But there she was, running the floor, grabbing rebounds, pressuring the ball on defense. Blouin eventually pressed the stop button on the VCR and peered at her.

"She looked at herself and smiled," Blouin said.

"It's all on you," he told her. "You made yourself."

By this winter, it became clear. Lopez had come a long way.

"If I work hard," she said, "I can accomplish anything."

The junior is a self-made three-sport athlete. She plays volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter, and is the Lancers' best thrower in the spring. This season, she's second in the region in the discus | her toss of 108-6 won the Collins-McIntyre Andover Boosters Invitational | and tied for third in the shot put (33-5). Last year she led the area with a 106-11 in the discus.

"She's impressive," Lawrence track coach Anthony Ellis said. "She's just such a hard worker, such a leader; she shows (her teammates) what to do."

In about two years, Lopez has gone from shy teenager to role model. Not bad for someone who hadn't played organized sports until the ninth grade. She came into Lawrence High out of shape, she said, and needed a boost.

"I was a little heavier," she said. "I was never active or anything."

She remembers her first volleyball tryout. Intimidated and overwhelmed, she second-guessed herself.

"What was I getting myself into?" she said. "It was so intimidating. To me, everybody was so big. They scared me so bad. I wanted to impress them."

Thus, the work began.

…

She jogged, lifted weights and shot hoops on her own.

"I learned that there's so much effort you have to put into it," she said. "It takes a lot of dedication."

Gradually, she saw results.

"When I was a freshman, I couldn't run two miles to save my life," she said. "By sophomore year, I could when I wanted to. Now, I love working out. If I go a day or two without working out, I can't stand it."

Over the past three years, she's shed pounds and gained muscle. The hard work isn't lost on Ellis, Blouin, and her brother Manuel, a former class president at Lawrence High who's now a sophomore at UMass Amherst.

"Every time he comes home, he tries to make it to my games," Karina said. "(He'll say) 'You're getting thinner.' He always compliments me."

By last summer, Lopez was ready for more. Blouin, sensing her desire, delivered a basketball and a message: "Don't bring it back," he told her, "until the cover's worn off."

By the winter, she was named a basketball tri-captain. The two-year starter was named a Merrimack Valley Conference All-Star. She hasn't let up since.

"She works hard at everything," Blouin said. "Now every day at track, they have to throw her out of the gym. She's bought into, 'If I work hard, I can do this.' "

She pushes herself in other ways too. Lopez takes Advanced Placement Physics and English. And in the summer, she works for the Lawrence Recreation Department, playing wiffleball and other games with kids.

"I never had somebody to teach me to play sports," she said. "I want all the kids to be active."

So she tries to spread the gospel, even encouraging her mother Maria to join her for walks. Lopez's younger sister Kayra wants to play basketball. She already has an eager mentor.

There really isn't much Lopez won't do for her family and friends. Last summer, she helped make sure her teammates were practicing and on time for games in the Hoops for Hope League.

"She's one of my all-time top kids," Blouin said. "She'll do anything you ask of her."

Her future in track also appears to be bright. Plus, Ellis said, "She's still got another year to learn."

For Lopez, uncertainty has been replaced by promise. It's a good feeling.

"I always doubted myself," she said, "But (sports), it's given me confidence to do things."