When Melinda Hale graduated from Oil City High School in 1973, she was just your common, everyday "all-around athlete." 

But by the time she graduated from Slippery Rock, she expanded on that tag -- adding team handball to her extensive repertoire -- to the point where she made the United States Olympic team.

A lot has been written about Melinda -- some of it by me -- but I'm going to use a 1996 story by Kay Dannels of the Allied News out of Grove City after she was invited by the Olympic Committee to apply to carry the Olympic torch a portion of its 15,000-mile voyage throughout the United States on its way to Atlanta. 

Melinda competed in all varsity sports at OCHS, and she was primarily a basketball player at the Rock, captaining the team her junior and senior years. 

She took up team handball in 1974 and that allowed her to tour the world. She made the Olympic team in 1980 and competed in 1984. 

She was so versatile in sports that she was head coach of the Kansas State volleyball and lacrosse teams during her very athletic life.