Even though I am retired from the sport of track and field for about two years now (well, almost)– I still follow the sport and the different competitions. I got a chance last year as a graduate assistant with the track and field team to help out organize and help the team prepare for the meets– and I felt relaxed! I was like, hey! I don’t have to compete! I really don’t need to worry about how far that little 8.8lb iron ball has to go (well, now it doesn’t feel so little! :)) But it got me thinking– track and field was a large part of my life for ten years (that’s a long time– makes a girl think!).
There were many meets where I wished that little shot put would have gone a bit further, and then there were days that made all of the hard burnout weight-training workouts with Dad (or known as “Coach Dad”), lots of throws against the handball courts with an indoor shot, and overcoming hurdles and challenges that made it all worth it. Looking back at my career, there were five meets that really stood out to me for different reasons, but they are the ones that I look back and think– wow! That was really a special memory for me!
Here are my top meets of my track and field career:
5. Mt.Sac Relays, 2006: Mt. Sac Relays was also a favorite meet of mine to go to when I was competing in high school in California. I won the high school division for three years– from sophomore year to my senior year. It was such a huge meet, and I was really happy to be able to go to the meet when I was competing at USC. I was scheduled to throw the shot in the invitational section, and I felt pretty good before the meet. I thought that I might throw maybe 54′-55′– but I had no idea what was going to happen. It was also neat to compete with some of the throwers that I threw with in high school, Jill Camarena and Jessica Cosby. Jill won the meet, and I got third, and Jessica got fourth. 🙂
The thing that made this meet so memorable to me is what Dad said before I threw. Mt.Sac Relays was a few days before Dad’s birthday, and he told me that the perfect birthday present that you could give him would be the USC school record (at the time it was 56’3″) I was like– no pressure whatsoever! 🙂 But I did it– I threw 56’5 3/4″ and got the school record. It was really neat and I will always remember that! 🙂
4. SEC Outdoor Championships, 2003:
This was the first SEC outdoor championships that I had when I was competing at the University of Florida, which was actually held at the University of Tennessee. It was amazing– because I remember coming on campus at UT and I was like– wow! What a neat campus! Little did I know that four years down the road I was going to be here doing my Ph.D.! 🙂
Anyway, at this time– I had been dealing with some back injuries and felt a lot of pressure to do well in the meet. I had won the SEC Indoor meet, but there were some people that thought that I wasn’t going to be able to repeat. Well, I did. I threw a PR of 55’9 3/4″ and got the Florida school record. I was very excited– so much so that I did the Gator Chomp on the Award Stand (oops!) This was also the meet where Florida was the SEC Champions for the Women’s Team, so I was excited to get my first team championship ring! 🙂
3. 2004 Olympic Trials:
I have told many people that this was probably the toughest meet that I had to compete in. There were a lot of challenges that I had to face before going to the Olympic Trials. During the 2004 season, I was struggling to overcome back injury after back injury– but I was determined to compete at the trials. I also was training on my own at Florida where I had to be creative in finding places to work out (like Jurassic Park). Before the meet, I had not stepped into a shot put ring for about a month. I knew that my mark that I had put me near the bottom of the list, so I thought I was lucky to make it to the trials.
Mom, Dad, and Karla made the trip with me to Sacramento to see me compete in the shot put competition. I felt a lot of pressure to perform, but I was also really excited to be one of the many athletes to compete at the trials. I threw 53’7″ in the prelims– farther than I had thrown in months that year– and ended up 6th going into finals. I was absolutely shocked! I was like, WHAT??!! I made it to finals? That is too cool! Mom and Dad had to get another night at our hotel because they only booked one night previously! 🙂 Oops! But anyway, I ended up getting 9th overall, and I was really happy about my performance. This meet taught me that if you can overcome many obstacles and challenges thrown your way, it only makes you stronger. 🙂
2. California State High School Meet, 2000:
I would say that the high school state meet my junior year was really special for me in many ways. I was second the year before, and the marks of all of the girls that year were all really far. Just to put it into perspective– that year, the girl that got 4th place threw 47 feet. That is amazing!!!
Before entering the meet, I had thrown 50’10 3/4″, and so I was the favorite to win, but it was not a shoo-in. There were many talented throwers there, including Jill Camarena and Jessica Cosby. Jessica had a huge PR and threw about 49′ when I had thrown about 49’3″ in the first couple of rounds. I was like, hey now! I don’t want to be ahead of her by just a few inches! So, I got motivated and threw 50’7″ to win. It was also special to me to have Kristin there helping out with the markers too! 🙂 I totally got emotional after I won– I was so happy that I brought San Luis High a state championship title and all of the hard work paid off! 🙂
1. USC vs. UCLA Dual Meet, 2006:
Yes, it is called “THE meet” for a reason! Before I even got to USC, Dad would tell me that the meet that everyone was watching was the USC-UCLA dual meet. The NCAAs or the PAC 10s were okay, but if you beat USC or UCLA (depending on your team), you were golden! The first time that I met with Coach Allice (Director of Track and Field at USC), he mentioned that the USC athletes needed to perform well at the following meets: UCLA, NCAAs, Pac10s, and Regionals– in that order, so it gives you an idea of how important this meet was! 🙂
This meet for me was a two-day event. The first day was the hammer, which I had to throw in so USC could sweep the event. I knew that it was going to be a special day because I PRed by over 13 feet and threw 184’4″ to get third. This was without practicing for two months! The next day was the shot put and discus. Let’s just say that I was a lone cardinal and gold in a sea of blue UCLA uniforms! The main competition I had was UCLA thrower Kamaiya Warren. We threw together in high school (she was a few years younger than me). Anyway, Kamaiya has a huge PR and throws 55’11. I was like, okay Karen– you got to perform now and do something. I threw around that– maybe 55’11.5″ or something. But the next throw was different.
The next throw, I saw all of the USC coaches come from various places to watch the next throwing round. I could hear Mom and Dad cheering from the stands. I was trying to get myself motivated for my next throw, when I heard one of the coaches from UCLA say loud and clear “Way to Stick it to her Kamaiya!” Boy that got me motivated– I was like, WHAT??!! I grabbed my shot, and basically slapped it out there. The shot landed way passed the 55 foot line, and measured out to be 57’7.5″, a new USC school record. During my series, I had three throws over 57 and five over 17 meters (55’9″)– the best series in my throwing career.
The meet didn’t end there! I also PRed in the discus (151’4″)–so basically, I got a personal best in all of my events and won the shot put. What also makes this special to me is the fact that I was told that before I won, USC had never won the women’s shot put against UCLA. Wow! 🙂 Another thing that I felt really great about is the fact that I got to throw in the same ring that Dad threw in when he was competing for UCLA (1970-1974, All-American, UCLA Discus School Record-holder at 194’10”). So, this is my all-time favorite track and field meet of my career.
Anyway, it is always nice to go down memory lane to look back at the various track and field meets. I will always have fond memories of being a track and field athlete because I got to see so many different places around the US, be part of amazing teams, and be able to compete in a great sport. My career in track and field has been described as “colorful”– which is true– but it has been a roller coaster as well. There have been great moments of victory and many challenges to face– but I believe that it has made me into a stronger and more confident person. 🙂 It was a great chapter in my life. 🙂
Have a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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