The “Bo Knows” commercial in the late 1980’s served as an inspiration for many young aspiring multi-sport athletes. The commercial focused on the theme that athletes didn’t have to be dedicated to just one sport year-round. Athletes blessed with superior athletic skills could not only participate in multi-sports but could be very successful in doing so. Rashaunda (Crumbough) Shepard was an athlete who paid close attention to the commercial. “That commercial kind of inspired me,” said the 2026 Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame inductee. “Growing up in Athens, I was probably around eight or nine years old when the commercial came out. It convinced me that I didn’t have to place restrictions on how many sports I played and be successful.”

Shepard was indeed successful as she became a dominant two-sport star for Athens High School and later at Alabama A&M University. She was the number one player on the AHS tennis team during her entire career and participated in numerous track and field events. Shepard’s high school tennis coach Janet Latham said Shepard could have been the team’s number one player prior to her ninth-grade year if the rules had been different.

“Rashaunda would have been the number one player on our tennis team as a seventh grader if the Alabama High School Association rules had allowed it. She was so advanced skill wise,” said Latham. Shepard’s journey to her multi-sports achievements began at age 10 as she became a member of the the Alabama Trackers Youth Track Team. She participated in several USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic events. She would win the state title in the 200-meter hurdles as a 12-year-old. Her time in the event, set a state record for her age group.

She also began her career in tennis as she took private lessons from Billy Embry and John Stanford. “Tennis was really popular when I first started,” said Shepard. “Although tennis is tough because you often times have to train alone, I found it easy to pick up. Playing in tournaments was a very satisfying experience.”

Once Shepard began her high school career, it wasn’t long before teammates, coaches and opponents found out what an incredible athlete she was. While many athletes may participate in multiple sports in high school, very few participate in sports whose seasons overlap and do so at a high level of performance. It is this reason why Shepard’s achievements at the high school level are so impressive because track and tennis are spring sports. In track, she participated in the 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, 4x100 and 4x400 relays and long jump. She was named three times to the All- Area Track Team during her AHS career. She was named All-Area four times in tennis while being named the Decatur Daily Area Player of the Year in 2000. “Tennis was my first love. I put a lot of time in studying the game. It takes a lot of discipline to be good at tennis. But, I enjoyed running track at Athens High School. I had good teammates in high school and we were able to enjoy success in both sports,” said Shepard.

One example of how difficult it is to juggle two sports for an athlete whose playing seasons overlap, was during Shepard’s senior year. “We had just completed the state tennis tournament in Montgomery and our track team was competing in the state track meet in Tuscaloosa. As soon as our tennis match ended, my mother loaded me up in her car and we drove to Tuscaloosa. I had just enough time to put on my uniform and stretch before we started the 4x400 meter relay event,” quipped Shepard.

“I am so happy that Rashaunda is being inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame,” said Latham. “She was a coach’s dream. Rashaunda was an incredible athlete. She was a powerful, extremely quick tennis player and very smart.” A gifted student-athlete, Shepard held academic and athletic scholarship offers from numerous colleges and universities. Her college destination was her parent’s alma mater, Alabama A&M University. There, she was the Lady Bulldogs number one tennis player for three of the four years she was in the program. “I think my favorite moment was when I defeated the number one player for Alabama State as a sophomore. Alabama State was our biggest rivalry and it was important to our school and fans that we did well against them,” said Sheppard.

Sheppard said she is excited to be inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame. “It is a great honor to be recognized for the accomplishments I had in two sports. I am grateful of the support I had from my parents, coaches and teammates while competing. I am looking forward to the induction ceremony,” said Sheppard.