Part of the American Dream says that anybody can grow up to do anything if they really put their mind to it. St. James senior Lyndie Bosshart is living proof that dreams really do come true.

Last week Bosshart, the reigning state champion in the Class A girls pole vault, signed a national letter of intent to attend the University of Minnesota where she plans to continue her track and field career as well as pursue a degree in speech pathology. It’s a goal she’s harbored for as long as she can remember.

“I’ve always wanted to be a Gopher, ever since I was a little kid,” Bosshart said this week. “I’m excited. The whole thing is a little overwhelming.”

Bosshart is believed to be the first girls track and field athlete at St. James to receive a Division I scholarship. She also runs sprints and does the long jump for the Saints, but she is expected to concentrate strictly on the pole vault at the U.

“I’m really not that surprised,” St. James head track coach Scott Allen said of Bosshart’s signing. “She has the natural speed and strength that are necessary for good pole vaulters. She’s a gymnast, too, and that always helps.

“She’s been determined to succeed ever since she’s been with the program. She goes to a lot of camps in the offseason and works out with people like Matt Kolb at MSU and Fred Berg at Gustavus. That kind of dedication is paying off for her.”

Bosshart, mostly at the urging of her coaches, tried the pole vault when she first joined the St. James team as a seventh-grader.

“I sucked really bad,” she said. “I couldn’t even clear five feet.”

But Bosshart stuck with it and cleared six feet by the end of the season. She continued to improve as an eighth-grader and then blossomed in ninth grade, qualifying for state and winning most of the meets she competed in.

Last year, as a junior, she reached her career-best height of 11-feet-6 at a home meet and then duplicated that feat as her section meet at Mankato West High School. She went on to win the Class A state meet with a jump of 11-feet even.

When she started investigating college opportunities, Bosshart quickly narrowed her choices to Winona State and Minnesota. Her sister, Libbie, is a sophomore at Winona State but, when the Gophers offered Lyndie a tender, she had to take it.

“Now I’ve made the decision and it’s behind me,” she said. “Next year I’ll be a Gopher.”

It’s kind of nice when dreams come true, isn’t it?

Jim Rueda is the Free Press sports editor. To contact him, call 344-6381 or e-mail him at jrueda@mankato freepress.com.