Amanda Newton Plotner played three sports as a student at Republic, and she thinks that experience set her up for her success at Drury College, where she’s still the Lady Panthers’ all-time leading scorer. Her sports accomplishments at both the high school and college levels were recognized Thursday by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, when Plotner received a Wynn Award, given to former sports standouts who made an impact in their sports.
As a Lady Tiger, Plotner was an all-state basketball and volleyball player. She was a four-time all-state medalist in track, and she set a state record in the discus as a senior. She went on to become a three-time All-American basketball player at Drury. She helped the Lady Panthers to a national runner-up finish as a sophomore. It was all possible, she says, because she didn’t focus on any one sport as a high school athlete.
“I wasn’t playing basketball year-round, so I didn’t have the normal basketball injuries that people have once they get to college. I think that playing multiple sports made me appreciate athletes in general, and that made me mentally tougher. My body and my mind did different things throughout the year. And I was blessed with at Drury who had played multiple sports in high school, and I think that’s why we were so good.”
Despite her accomplishments as an athlete, Plotner says the friendships she developed in sports are what she treasures most from that time.
“I know I’m here because of an award, but what I got out of it was not the awards. We were pretty good, but I got the relationships out of it. Sports lead you to a lot of avenues and a lot of openings, and people to meet, and that’s what I’ve taken from it.”
The Wynn Awards are named in honor of Dr. Mary Jo Wynn, the longtime Senior Women’s Administrator at Missouri State University, a 1999 inductee of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
(See Plotner’s profile at the Republic Tiger Sports Hall of Fame here.)