EVANSTON — Participation in the Down Under Sports Tournaments in Australia is billed as a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience. Evanston’s Taryn Holt confirms it was just that for her. 

“Yes, it really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” the 15-year-old incoming sophomore at EHS told the Herald.

“There were even Olympic qualifiers competing there, so it was really fun to compete and to watch.”

But, maybe  hold the phones on the “once” in once-in-a-lifetime in this case.

“I was the youngest one there by two years,” Holt said.

“There were athletes who were 18, 19, and up,” she explained.

“They mentioned I will probably have this opportunity again, if it’s something I want to do,” she added.

The initial opportunity to compete in the Down Under Sports Tournaments at Griffith University on Australia’s Gold Coast — one location for the Griffith University, with the other in the capital city of Queensland — came by way of an invitation that Holt explains was based on times she posted as a varsity member of the EHS track and field team, specializing in hurdles and the long-jump. Holt competed in the 300-meter hurdles in Australia against athletes from Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

“It was individual competition but you also scored points for your team with individual places,” Holt said.

Of the 300 total athletes, there were five other competitors from Wyoming, according to Holt, “but they were from the eastern side of the state.”

Holt made the 10-day trip with her parents, Jack and Trudy Holt, following fundraising efforts involving what she described as a “very supportive community” in her hometown of Evanston. The flight was approximately 18 hours and she had two practice days along with three days of competition.

“The rest of the time was just spent traveling and sight-seeing,” Holt reported.

The competition was fierce with both Australia and New Zealand featuring their respective country’s top-8 athletes as qualifiers, Holt explained.

“We, the USA, didn’t win but we were very competitive,” she said.

Holt had never been out of the country prior to her Down Under experience and described the process of obtaining a passport and everything else involved in being able to compete as a long process. While it is currently winter in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, Holt said the temperatures in the 70s and even climbing to 80 degrees were perfect.

“The food is very different and so is the culture,” Holt said of the experience.

“But the time-change was really hard to adjust to,” she added.

Holt found the Australian accent endearing but also jokingly shared that it “got in the way” at times, being difficult to understand on occasion.

Holt feels the experience will enhance her ability to be a better teammate in track, along with volleyball and basketball, in which she also competes for Evanston High School.

“Coaches in Australia were not allowed inside the fences so you really had to look out for and help each other out. Kind of coach each other along the way,” she avowed.

Holt feels her biggest takeaway from the experience will be the lasting friendships she made along the way.

“I met a lot of new people there. It made me realize that you can go anywhere and make friends,” she shared.

“Those friendships will last forever and that’s probably the coolest thing,” Holt concluded.