TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

This Thursday, May 13 through Saturday, May 15, your team is at the Mid-American Conference Championships. What events will you be competing in and what goals have you set for yourself?
I will be competing in the shot put, hammer throw and discus at the MAC Championships. I have set very high goals for myself and am aiming to score in all three of my events so that I can help our team move up in the MAC standings.

I would like to wish the best of luck to both our men and women's outdoor track teams regarding this upcoming weekend. We have all worked hard and I can't wait to see everyone compete to the best of their abilities.

Last season at the MAC Outdoors, you finished fourth in the shot put and 18th in the hammer throw. How much can that experience benefit you at this year’s MAC Championships?
Believe it or not, one track meet gives an individual an incredible amount of experience. We learn a lot from each one that we compete in. Sometimes the meets are real big and we have to deal with pressure, or sometimes the meets are small and we can relax a little bit – but in either situation, we still have to do our job.

On the whole, did you take a different approach to both the indoor and outdoor seasons now that you are a sophomore?
The only thing that was different about the indoor and outdoor seasons this year as compared to last is that I do have a lot more experience and confidence. I know that I can compete with anyone.

Even when we are competing with those individuals who are qualified for the Olympic trials, we do not just give up and move onto the next week. We still do the best we can and hope that competing against those type of elite athletes can push us to do even better.

At the beginning of this month, you put in an excellent showing at the Akron Quad Meet. You finished second in the shot put with a new school record, won the hammer throw, and also finished seventh in the discus. How meaningful is it for you to be successful across the board at an event like that?
To be honest, normally I only do really well in a single event during a one-day track meet. That has been one of the things I have been trying to work on – because even in high school, I generally would only excel in one event.

I have thought a lot about how that affects our team and if I can only do well at one event, that leaves two other events where I do not help our team. I want to be a solid all-around athlete and for me to do that, I feel that I need to be able to excel in all of my events, not just one.

Can you detail what exactly the shot put, hammer throw and discus events are?
The shot put is an 8.9-pound ball that is made out of a type of metal. When throwing, you can use either a spin or a glide technique. Both have been proven effective – and not one more so than the other.

The hammer is – in simple terms – a shot put on a wire. There is a metal ball that also weighs 8.9 pounds, but it hangs from a wire – enabling it to be thrown much farther.

On the other hand, a discus looks like a flying saucer-type of an object. In order to throw the discus far, you have to throw it flat so that the air doesn’t knock it down.

What types of similarities – if any – are there between those three events from a technique standpoint?
The only real similarities between these three events are the way in which you prepare for them. The workouts we do include working on speed and strength, as well as technique. Each of the events are very unique and require different types of specific skills.

Do the order of events change at a meet? How difficult is it to recuperate and prepare for another throwing event?
The order of the events does change depending on the type of meet you go to. For instance, when we compete at bigger meets the order is usually similar – hammer, shot put then discus. However, when we go to smaller meets the events change in various ways. Sometimes the events are not always in the same day – and when you get a day’s break in between you naturally feel more rested and energized.

When they are all during the same day, we usually rest between events and get something to eat in order to keep our energy up. We try not to over think the events that are coming up.

When I was in middle school, I found it very difficult to compete in more than one event during the same day. However, as I have gotten older it has become more of a routine.

What goes on during an average practice week for the throwers?
During the school year, we usually have practice starting at 3:30 pm. We do a running warm-up and stretch with our entire team. Then, we get all of our equipment out and begin throwing.

During the week, we usually throw for about two hours and then head into the weight room for a 90-minute workout on either our upper or lower bodies.

When school is out, things are a little different. As throwers, we usually like to utilize double sessions because it is difficult to practice all three events in one day. So we will generally practice around 11:00 am and then again at 3:30 pm with our weightlifting session in between.

After a great high school career at Lockport, what would you characterize as the biggest adjustment to collegiate athletics following nearly two seasons at UB?
The biggest challenge that I faced was actually believing I could compete with college athletes at the Division I level – and then go out and actually do that. At this level, the workouts are much harder and by no means are as laid back as they were in high school. I really enjoy collegiate athletics because the maturity level required for you to compete is so high.

How much did winning the MAC Indoor Championships title in the shot put mean to you? How much pride do you take in seeing your name scattered throughout both UB’s indoor and outdoor track and field record books?
Winning the MAC indoor shot put title was absolutely an amazing experience. I can’t remember another time when I had been that excited and proud of myself. All I could think of the night before was how badly I wanted to throw 48 feet. I knew that I could do it; I just had to get the throw in when it counted. I didn’t necessarily set aside a goal of winning, but my goal of 48 feet worked out to be the top throw. After the meet, my teammates kept calling me ‘MAC Champ.’ At first I didn’t realize that they were talking to me, because I still couldn't believe that I had just won.

My throws coach (Jim Garnham, Sr.) always tells me that records are made to be broken, but that champions are champions forever. I have no doubt in my mind that next year, Faith Thompson – who redshirted this past season – is going to do all she can to regain many of her records. Those records were a goal for me because I knew that I could reach them. They are so meaningful because I threw with Faith in high school and she was my idol back then.

-The "10 Questions with…" feature is compiled by Geoff Nason.