Enshrined: Townsend Following The Path as it Takes Her
She keeps her life full with a myriad of pursuits
Mike Brohard
Life can take you in different directions. Some forks were anticipated, others were approached unseen.
Mekana (Barnes) Townsend has experienced both, choosing to go with the flow of the roads traveled, be the avenues personal or professional.
“There’s always enough to keep me filled up. For me, it’s finding that balance of things I like to do, active stuff,” she said. “I’ll get back into volleyball and do some more kick boxing. Life was scheduled on paper when you’re a student-athlete, and really, it’s not that much different now. It’s trying to get a lot of stuff done and be productive.”
She will be part of a nine-person class recognized during the annual All-Sports Reunion weekend, with the Hall of Fame Induction set for Friday, Oct. 27. The following day, the entered class will be recognized on the field during the State Pride football game with Air Force.
The selection is based off her career as she became one of the most dynamic, explosive athletes in one of the most successful programs in Colorado State history. She was a two-time All-American middle blocker for Tom Hilbert’s volleyball teams from 2004-08, ranking in the top five nationally in blocking twice. In 2007, she was the only player in the nation to rank in the top 10 in both blocks and kills per set.
She still ranks in the top 10 in CSU history for both kills and blocks in a career, one when the college chapter closed, the 2009 Virginia Frank Award winner spent a year with the US National team, then moved on to a professional career.
All business, all the time is the young lady Hilbert remembers.
“She was one of the most serious people we ever had,” he said. “You didn’t see her jacking around. She was very serious. I think she of all people, looked at her college experience as a way to advance.
“She takes everything extremely seriously. She was not an outgoing, extroverted player, but very talented. In 2006, we were not going to make the NCAA Tournament. We were third in the conference, and in the finals against No. 9 Utah she just took over. They were unable to stop her.”
Her favorite seasons as a professional were spent in Puerto Rico, but when she was done playing, she turned to coaching. She spent a season at Albany SUNY, then coached at Regis University in Denver as a graduate assistant for two years.
Eventually, she’d like to get back into coaching, but more at the club level, where Hilbert feels she’d be an ideal person to inspire the next generation.
“I 100 percent believe that. I thought she’d stay in coaching when she started at Regis,” he said. “I think she would be an outstanding club coach, helping kids.”
I can’t be a sane, balanced person if I don’t get some activity in. I get restless.Mekana Townsend
But life, as Townsend has found, doesn’t always follow what is anticipated.
She graduated from Colorado State with degrees in sociology and psychology. The past eight years, she’s worked for Merrill Lynch in Greenwood Village GTC. Who would have thought?
Not her.
“Not at all. I don’t think I had a picture in my mind I would end up in finance,” she said. “I still have pipe dreams of becoming a therapist. It’s been a learning experience, and I value what I’ve learned.”
This past year, she married her husband, Tony, who had two children, in a destination wedding in Jamaica. All the while, she has found ways to remain active, going back again to trying to achieve the balance in her life.
Naturally, playing volleyball was a big part, switching more to the sand game. However, she never limited her options, experiencing a host of new outlets.
“I kept playing up until about six months ago in our sand facilities here. That fell off because I had a busy year,” she said. “I was doing that and a lot of other active stuff. I was doing kick boxing and got into flag football, anything to stay active.
“I can’t be a sane, balanced person if I don’t get some activity in. I get restless. I have a friend who started teaching kick boxing, so I was supporting her and going to classes. I’m not the greatest. It’s a fitness class. Tony and I like to do a lot of hiking and go outdoors. We like to go to lakes. I’m a fun hike person. I go to enjoy the outdoors. It’s enough of a workout and it’s enough for me.”
Townsend said she’s become a bit removed from all that is happening in Fort Collins, so when she received the call about her induction, it definitely caught her by surprise.
It didn’t take long for her to take a hike down memory lane, either.
“I was wondering who was calling me, and I thought they were soliciting for fundraising,” she said. “When he said the Hall of Fame I was surprised. It was nothing when I was expecting. I never thought about it at all. When you’re in it, I don’t know if any of us think about that stuff.
“I was thinking it’s been so long since I’ve been to campus, and I was thinking back to when it was and who I saw. I believe it was an alumni event. Of course, being a student-athlete on campus, it feels like a long time ago, but it wasn’t that long. Time flies. Every year we get older, I think man, that was quick.”
Especially when you’re enjoying life taking you where it may.