Though accustomed to competing on a state championship stage during her four years at Douglas High School, Jessica Waggoner learned a new lesson on Saturday morning.
A lesson on competing at the national level, that is, as Waggoner finished 14th in the junior women's discus at the USATF Track and Field Championships held at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The competition was held for athletes 19 years of age and under.
"When the official calls your name at a national championship, things tighten up," said Mike Louisiana, who won the 1971 NCAA discus championship for BYU and has been Waggoner's technical adviser the last two seasons.
Waggoner, a three-sport athlete who graduated from Douglas earlier this month logged a mark of 135 feet, 11 inches under windy conditions in her first appearance at a national championship event. The mark was short of her personal best of 153-9 set in May during the Northern 4A Regional prelims at Douglas High (she went on to win the state title).
Chalk this up as a learning experience.
"She was a little intimidated by the (throwing) cage. The cage is very big. It's one of those things you don't expect will make a difference, but it does," Louisiana said. "Jess said, 'I'm tight; I can't loosen up;' she wasn't even able to get loose in her warmups. That comes from the moment of being at the national championships. It can be intimidating for anyone who has not been here before."
Anastasia Jelmini of Shafter, Calif., who set the national high school girls discus record this spring (190-3) and is now headed to Arizona State University, won the event with a throw of 174-10. Two-time Ohio state high school champion Erin Pendleton was second, North Carolina state champion Aslynn Halvorson was third (both threw 169-5) and Taylor Freeman was fourth (163-9). Freeman placed eighth in the discus for the University of Arizona at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships season.
"She's only been throwing seven months all together, if you look at the time she's actually been throwing (in track and field)," Louisiana said of Waggoner. "It takes time ... with this experience, she could do well if she comes back next year."
