National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

Photos by Joy Kamani (top to bottom, left to right): NSAF Project Javelin throwers Emma Fitzgerald, Katelyn Gochenour, Tairyn Montgomery, Chrissy Glasmann and Sophia Rivera; Project Triple Jumper Chinne Okoronkwo; and Noah Lyles winning a close 200.

We didn’t think we could top last weekend where Katelyn Gochenour (Marian Catholic, Omaha, NE) and Chrissy Glasmann (Park City, UT), both participants in the NSAF Kultan Keihas (Javelin Gold) Project, got major PRs:  167 for Gochenour and 160 for Glasmann.

Both those athletes, along with then NSAF Project Triple Jump athletes, continue to impress.

At the Area Youth Olympic Trials held in Miramar, FL on Saturday, April 5, it was not Gochenour nor Glasmann who got the big mark, but Emma Fitzgerald (Thayer Academy, MA) who blasted a 168-2, albeit with a 500 gram javelin (slightly lighter than the normal high school 600 gram javelin).

There were five Kultan Keihas female javelin throwers present:  the aforementioned three, plus Tairyn Montgomery (Redondo Union, Redondo Beach, CA) and Sophia Rivera (Brentwood, MO).  All are sophomores except for Glasmann.

Fitzgerald opened with 157-8, which was ultimately good enough to win.  She noted that she had practiced with the 500 gram javelin and had a certain technique especially for that weight.  (Intuitively, it does not make sense that the 500 gram javelin may be more difficult to master than the heavier 600 gram version.  But there are differences in the technique such that it may be more challenging to throw, even though it is lighter).

Tairyn Montgomery was second after the first round with 146-3.  Round two saw Luz Mariana Castro (Mexico) move into second, throwing 156-1.  Emma got her winning toss (168-2) in round 3, with Katelyn Gochenour surpassing Montgomery, throwing 151-8.

In round 4, Gochenour improved to 155-3, still in third behind Castro.  Then, in round 5, Brittni Wolczyk (Canada) unleashed her second-place throw of 157-6.  Kultan Keihas Project athletes finished 1-4-6-7-8, a quite respectable performance.

Shortly after the girls’ javelin competition ended, the girls’ triple jump competition began.

The NSAF sponsored one athlete, Chinne Okoronkwo (Mountlake Terrace, WA).  Chinne came into the competition with a best of 40-3.25, achieved at the New Balance Nationals Indoor in March.

Chinne’s main competition was Asa Garcia, the Texas Relays champion who won that event in 42-3.25, though windy.

Garcia opened with 39-7 and Okoronkwo fouled.  In round 2, Garcia improved to 40-3, with Chinne getting a legal mark, 39-3w, placing her in second.  Garcia fouled in round 3 and there was no improvement for Chinne.

Chinne took the lead in round 4, jumping 40-6.5w.  Garcia did not improve in that round.
Chinne matched her 40-6.5 in round 5, though it was wind-legal (1.9 mps).  But Garcia, jumping last in the competition, got her lead back with 40-11.75.

Along the way, Project Triple Jump Director Peter Pratt helped Chinne with some coaching pointers, helping her to improve with each jump.  Chinne had to improve in round 6 in order to win.  And she did, jumping 41-6w, even being 5 inches behind the board and falling back in the pit.  Keeping her balance and hitting the board would have meant a jump of around 43 feet.  Garcia was the last jumper, but fouled, making Chinne the champ.  And she won on the final jump of the competition, the sign of a true champion.

Now both have to wait until early June, when the South American trials are completed, to see if they will be named to the U.S. team (There will be four female javelin throwers and two female triple jumpers selected, total, for The Americas).

On the track, Noah Lyles (TC Williams, VA soph), after running a windy 20.95 in the trials of the 200m. won in a stunning 20.89, wind-legal.  (There will be nine male 200 meter runners selected to the Americas team; Noah is currently at the “top of the heap”, awaiting the results of the Carifta Games and the South American trials).

Noah’s parents are former national class collegiate performers, Kevin Lyles and Keisha Caine, both Seton Hall U. graduates.  Kevin said that he would not have brought Noah to the trials without the coaxing (and assistance) of the NSAF.  We’re glad he came!