Unk today molina makes big jump after be…

” The charge was contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Molina went through the diversion program again, althoughwithout results, and he was suspended from the KHS track team forthe last three meets, which included district and state. “I was embarrassed and devastated. I had a lot of guilt andshame. I knew I let a lot of people down,” Molina said. “But mycoping method was to use drugs.” In addition to marijuana, he started using prescription drugs,inhalers and alcohol again. He says his attitude and personality changed. “I was becoming a very manipulative and deceiving person. … Iwas unemployable. I was physically at the job but not performing myduties,” he said. He became a thief, often stealing from his employers. he leftone job “high and dry,” just stopped showing up, “because I thoughtthey were onto my schemes,” “I blew my family off. I rarely ate at home … and if I was athome, it was in and out. I was not paying bills and was dependentupon my mom and dad,” he said. “I sucked a lot of life out of myparents.” And his drug use increased. “I didn’t do football or basketball, so I had three-fourths ofthe year to dedicate to my drug use,” he said. Then, the weekend before track practice started his senior year,he was arrested again and charged with misdemeanor possession ofmarijuana. No longer a juvenile, he was fined $100, and immediatelythought, “I could come up with that. … I couldn’t conceive thatdrugs were causing me a problem.” But the KHS track coaches told him they had had enough. he waskicked off the team and didn’t compete his senior year. He graduated in May 2007, but didn’t have a job and had nointention of going to college. “So I started selling drugs to pay for my drug habit. … Nothingelse mattered,” he said. Less than two months later, with all his wares in tow, he wasarrested and charged with felony possession of marijuana withintent to distribute, felony possession of prescription drugs,driving under the influence, minor in possession and failure to usea turn signal. He was looking at one to five years on one felony charge and oneto 20 years on another. he spent five days in jail waiting to seethe judge. “It was very stressful to see the looks in my family’s eyes whenthey saw me dressed in orange and all shackled up. … all theywanted to do was fix me, but I was too ashamed and too scared,” hesaid. When he met with his family after the proceedings, “I ran outthe back door and went straight to a drug house and got high. Istayed that way for four months.” He was assigned to Central Nebraska Drug Court and an 18-monthprogram that would purge his record if he completed the course.Knowing he faced hard time in prison, he quit using illegal drugs,but couldn’t shake alcohol. Subjected to random drug tests, hewould deny his alcohol use even though he tested positive. He eventually was sent to St. Francis Medical Center’s alcoholand drug treatment center in Grand Island. “I didn’t see it as a place that could help me. … but it was avery, very good place for me to go. they were caring andcompassionate,” he said. At St. Francis, he had structure re-introduced into his life —regular wakeup times, three meals per day.

“It had been a long time since I had done that,” he said. He was released on Nov. 20, two days before Thanksgiving, anddrank after Thanksgiving dinner. After failing a random drug test, he was jailed on Dec. 20, 2007— the date he now calls, “My dry date. I’ve been that way up untiltoday.” “That’s the point I feel I hit my bottom. It was around theholidays, and all my family was around,” he said. “All the guilt and shame I felt before did not come close tothis point. I felt very worthless,” he said. This time, when he was released, he went to his first 12-stepmeeting “and poured it all out.” He’s been an active member of the12-step community since that day. In the first 90 days, he estimates he attended more than 100meetings. “I had to get surrounded by people who were not high and notgetting high,” Molina said. He was assigned to a halfway house and got a job. “I learned a lot of coping skills. I had to find healthysolutions to what I was struggling with,” he said. He also started thinking about going back to school, and inAugust 2008, enrolled at UNK. he also wanted to get back intosports, and got permission from UNK track coach Andy Meyer to walkon. After only three months of training, he posted a nationalqualifying triple jump of 48 feet at the Lopers’ first meet inDecember 2008. “I was shocked. I couldn’t see myself jumping any farther than46 feet. that was my best in high school, and it was a big boost tomy self-worth,” Molina said. But challenges remained. He was living at home with his parents, had a part-time job andwas taking 13 hours of classes. he passed only four that firstsemester and was academically ineligible for the secondsemester. “I had a lot of stuff to take on, and I struggled with it,” hesaid. “The second semester, I put a lot more effort into it.” He maintained a solid grade-point average, went to summer schooland completed the course work required to be eligible lastyear. Then, he broke through on the track. At the All-Comers meet in February, Molina became UNK’sfirst-ever 50-foot triple jumper, posting a mark of 50-1 ¼. “I have it on tape. I watch it all the time. The way I jumpedout of the pit, I knew it was going to be pretty good,” Molinasaid. He competed at the national indoor meet, but an ankle injurykept him from performing his best. he finished 11th at the outdoornational meet. Now, his goal is to earn All-American honors by finishing in thetop eight at the national meet. he has two more years ofeligibility indoors and three outdoor seasons remaining. Long-term, he hopes to do social work with juveniledelinquents. “I’m experiencing a lot of freedoms I never had before. Thecourt system is not hanging over me. … I feel it’s very importantto give something back,” he said. buck.mahoney@kearneyhub.com Follow @HubSports_Buck Read UNK Today: Loper Line-Up section insidethe Wed., Aug. 18 Hub print edition. More Coverage More about Unk

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