Ashley Jenkins Looks To Leave Mark at NCAA
6/7/2016 6:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Third in a series of three articles on the Bearkat women who will compete Thursday in the NCAA Championships
Ashley Jenkins believes her experience at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships gives her an edge as she heads to Eugene, Oregon, this week to compete in the 2016 national finals.
The senior from Dallas placed ninth in the hammer with a throw of 202 feet, four inches in last year's national meet. She earned NCAA Division I All-America honors for that performance.
“Definitely it's an advantage having been there before,” Jenkins said. “Everybody is nervous. Being there before prepares me to know the kind of atmosphere I will be competing in, what the other competitors are like and what it takes to make those finals and try to get on that podium.”
Jenkins earned her berth in the NCAA National Championships a week ago with a fourth place finish in the women's hammer throw at the NCAA West Preliminary competition hosted by the University of Kansas in Lawrence. She hurled the hammer 213 feet, five inches to punch her ticket to Eugene.
Jenkins will compete in the finals this Thursday at 4 p.m. (Huntsville time). The four-day event is being held at one of America's most famous track and field venues – Hayward Field (known worldwide as Track Town USA) in Eugene, Oregon.
The facility has hosted the NCAA Outdoor Championships 10 times since 1962, the most of any venue in modern history. It is also the only facility to host three consecutive U. S. Olympic Trails and six U.S. Championships.
“Hayward Field and Eugene is an amazing place,” Jenkins said. “This is where every track and field athlete wants to compete.”
Jenkins top mark this year was a throw of 215 feet, five inches (65.67 meters) at the Sam Houston “Last Chance” meet in April. She won the Southland Conference hammer championship for the second year in a row with a mark of 215 feet, three inches and was the league's indoor weight throw gold medalist to help lead the Bearkat women to a sweep of both the Southland indoor and outdoor team titles.
Each of the top five hammer throws in the Sam Houston women's track and field record book has been one by Jenkins.
She also took first place in the hammer in meets at the University of Houston, Abilene Christian and Rice and was third in the Texas Relays. Her strategy at Eugene is simple.
“The only advice I would give anyone is just to focus on throwing far,” Jenkins said. “You never know. It could be your day or not. If you just focus on trying to get a big mark, usually that puts you where you need to be.”
In her final meet as a Bearkat, Jenkins' goal is simple.
“Being a senior, I just want to go out with a bang,” Jenkins said. “I want to make my mark and be remembered for being one of the best athletes to come through Sam Houston.”
Jenkins enters the NCAA National Championships seeded fourth in the field of 24. DeAnna Price of Southern Illinois is the top seed with a throw of 71.66 meters.
The field for the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Hammer Championships:
|
1 |
DeAnna Price |
Southern Illinois |
71.66m |
|
2 |
Maggie Ewen |
Arizona St. |
70.50m |
|
3 |
Julia Reedy |
Oklahoma |
65.57m |
|
4 |
ASHLEY JENKINS |
SAM HOUSTON |
65.04m |
|
5 |
Sara Savatovic |
Kansas St. |
63.47m |
|
6 |
Beckie Famurewa |
Kentucky |
63.14m |
|
7 |
Laura Schroeder |
Indiana |
62.58m |
|
8 |
Maci Bingham |
Utah St. |
62.12m |
|
9 |
Lyndsey Thorpe |
Minnesota |
62.04m |
|
10 |
Ashley Bryant |
Oklahoma |
61.94m |
|
11 |
Haley Showalter |
Wisconsin |
61.61m |
|
12 |
Janee Kassanavoid |
Kansas St. |
61.34m |
|
13 |
Jackie Leppelmeier |
Kent St. |
61.24m |
|
14 |
Valarie Allman |
Stanford |
61.12m |
|
15 |
Annette Echikunwoke |
Cincinnati |
60.98m |
|
16 |
Fatima Vergara |
Long Beach St. |
60.86m |
|
17 |
Precious Ogunleye |
Miami |
60.02m |
|
18 |
Tayla Greene |
Central Fla. |
58.82m |
|
19 |
Katja Vangsnes |
Florida St. |
59.51m |
|
20 |
Cynthia Watt |
Michigan St. |
59.44m |
|
21 |
Jayla Bostic |
Florida |
59.43m |
|
22 |
Marthaline Cooper |
Winthrop |
58.96m |
|
23 |
Jermisha Frazier |
SE Louisiana |
58.91m |
|
24 |
Nakel McClinton |
Indiana |
58.88m |
