THE
R U N N IN G
M ATE
HIGH SCHOOL BA
S KE T B A
When Gov. Palin was a s
tudent at
Wasilla High School in Was
illa , A
l
ask a,
she served as point guard
a n d c a p t a in o f
the basketball team. Altho
ugh the team
was an underdog, she led t
h e W a r r io r s t o
the 1982state championsh
ip . S h e w a s s o
competitive that her team
m ates gave her
the nickname \u201cSarah Barra
c u d a .\u201d B u t s h e
kept it all in perspective, n
ever forgetting
what was important. As he
ad of the
Fellowship of Christian Ath
le t e s , s h e le d
the teamin prayers before
each gam e.
\u201cFIRSTDUDE\u201d TO
DD PA
Todd Palin isn\u2019t like oth
e r F ir s t
Husbands. While most hus
b a n d s o f h ig h
powered women work white
c o lla r j o b s ,
Todd is blue collar to the c
o r e . P a r t Y u p ik
Eskimo, he has spent most
of h is life
working in Alaska\u2019s two mo
s t p h y s ic a lly
demanding industries \u2013 oil
a n d f is h in g . H e
is also four-time winner of
t h e w o r ld \u2019s
longest and most grueling s
n o w m o b ile
race, the 2,000-mile Tesor
o Iron Dog
contest. His toughness has
e a r n e d h im t h e
title \u201cFirst Dude.\u201d
For Gov. Palin, being ma
rried to her
high school sweetheart is
a dream com e
High School sweethearts \u2013 Tod
d a n d S a r a h P a lin
THE R
UNNING MATE ISS
U E
HIGH SCHOOL BAS
KETBALL
W h e n G o v . P a lin w a s a s t
udent at
W a s illa H ig h S c h o o l in W a s
illa, Alaska,
s h e s e r v e d a s p o in t g u a r d a
nd captain of
t h e b a s k e t b a ll t e a m . A lt h o
ugh the team
an underdog, she led th
e Warriors to
the 1982 state cham pionsh
ip. She was so
c o m p e t it iv e t h a t h e r t e a m m
ates gave her
the nicknam e \u201cSarah Barra
cuda.\u201d But she
k e p t it a ll in p e r s p e c t iv e , n
ever forgetting
w h a t w a s im p o r t a n t . A s h e a
d of the
stian A th
letes, she led
t h e t e a m in p r a y e r s b e f o r e
each game.
\u201cF I R S T D U D E \u201d T O D
DPALIN
T o d d P a lin is n \u2019t
l
ik e o t h e
r First
H u s b a n d s . W h ile m o s t h u s b
ands of high
p o w e r e d w o m e n w o r k w h it e
collar jobs,
T o d d is b lu e c o lla r t o t h e c
ore. Part Yupik
Eskim o, he has spent m ost
of his life
w o r k in g in A la s k a \u2019s t w o m o s
t physically
oil a
nd fishing. He
t im e w in n e r o f
the world\u2019s
lo n g e s t a n d m o s t g r u e lin g s
nowmobile
m ile T e s o r
o Iron Dog
contest. H is toughness has
earned himthe
F o r G o v . P a lin , b e in g m a r
ried to her
e e t h e a r t is a
dreamcome
true. In her high schoo
l yearbook, on the
class page, she wrote t
h a t h e r a m b it io n
was to \u201csit in a broadc
ast booth w
i
th
Howard Cosell broadca
sting basketball
games played by her bo
y f r ie n d , T o d d
Palin.\u201d
TRIG \u2013 BRAV
E VICTORY
In the spring of 20
0 6 , G o v . P a lin f a c e d
the toughest challenge
of her
l
if e
fifth child, Trig, was b
o r n w it h D o w n \u2019s
syndrome. Studies in t
he late 90s showed
that more than 80 per
cent of
Down\u2019s syndrome diagn
o s e s e n d in
abortion. Although she
le a r n e d m o n t h s in
advanced of her baby\u2019s
c o n d it io n , b r
i
n g in g
this beautiful child int
o t h e w o r ld w a s t h e
only option. "We've bo
th been very vocal
about being pro-life," P
a lin s a id o f h e r a n d
Todd. "We understand
that every
innocent life has wond
e r f u l p o t e n t ia l."
They named the child
T rig w hich is a
Norse word meaning \u201ct
rue\u201d and \u201cbrave
victory.\u201d The day after
t h e b ir t h
and Sarah issued a sta
tem ent saying, \u201cW e
feel privileged that Go
d w o u ld e n t r u s t u s
with this gift and allow
u s u n s p e a k a b le
as he entered our lives.
\u201d
T od
Leave a Comment