Published: May 01, 2008 10:54 am         

Jill (Fult) Everest honorary referee

Good things come to those who wait.

Jill (Fult) Everest is experiencing that as the 1977 Goshen High School graduate will be serving as honorary referee for the 19th running of the Goshen Girls Relays Saturday at Foreman Field.

“I was surprised,” Everest said. “It has been such a long time and there have been so many outstanding athletes. It’s an incredible honor for me.”

Everest was an accomplished track star for the Redskins. She was a three-time state qualifier in shot put and a sectional champion in her junior season with a then-sectional record toss of 38-3.

As a senior, Everest and Penny (Hoffman) DiPomazio (honorary referee in 2004) led Goshen to a ninth-place finish at the state meet at North Central of Indianapolis.

Everest placed third in shot (41-4) while Hoffman was second in high jump.

Dori Keyser (honorary referee in 1993) was the Goshen girls track coach.

“She was a great coach,” Everest said. “She was always encouraging athletes to do their best. She also believed the school was a very important part of competing.”

Everest was the sectional runner-up in shot to Concord’s Diane Stephenson who broke Everest’s sectional record with a mark of 41-9.

As a sophomore, Everest placed 10th in shot at the state meet with a school record toss of 37-2. During her junior season she broke her own record with a heave of 40- 1/2.

Everest was also an outstanding swimmer, qualifying for state three times.

“Swimming was my favorite sport,” she said. “I grew up with a pool and would rather swim long distances than run long ones.”

She placed 11th in the state in the 50-yard freestyle as a senior. During her junior season, she teamed with Beth Moyer, Ann Swoveland and Nancy Morris on a state qualifying 400 freestyle relay and as a sophomore joined forces with Barb Springer, Morris and Kim Gardner on a 400 free relay that also made it to state.

Everest also played basketball at GHS. She was a junior when the Redskins won the sectional at Elkhart North Side Gym in 1976 in the first-ever girls state tournament. Goshen lost in the regional to eventual state champion Warsaw.

“My high school career was a lot of fun,” Everest said. “I enjoyed playing all three sports.”

These days, Everest works at Elkhart Sharpening.

“We sharpen tools for the RV industry,” she said. “We also sharpen chain saws, knives and scissors.”

Everest and her husband Rick live in New Paris. The couple has a 17-year-old daughter Laura.

The family attends Union Center Church of the Brethren.

“I’m on the audio visual team and sing with the praise team,” Everest said. “Church is a very important part of our lives.”