In only her second meet of the year, Jessica Woodard bombed her first 60-foot shot put throw, the No. 14 performance in the world this year.
Woodard, a Cherokee graduate, threw 60-7 ½ at the Don Kirby Collegiate Elite meet at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Woodard’s throw moved her up to No. 22 in U.S. history indoors, No. 14 in the world this year and No. 5 among U.S. women this year going into indoor nationals next month.
Woodard won by half an inch over Netherlands discus Olympian Jorinde Van Klinken of Arizona State, who threw 60-7 ¼.
After a foul on her first attempt, Woodard hit the 60-7 ¾ on her second throw. After one more foul, she finished her series with throws of 59-8, 59-0 ½ and 59-6 ½.
So she beat her previous PR on three of her four legal throws, and those four legal throws averaged 59-8 ¾ – well beyond her PR of January.
Woodard competed in one other meet this year, the Puma Indoor Invitational at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix in January, where she threw 59-6. That broke her indoor PR of 59-0 ¼, which she set in the winter of 2020 in a meet in Norman, Okla.
Woodard threw an outdoor PR 62-3 ½ last spring in Tucson, No. 18 in U.S. history and No. 14 in the world last year.
USATF Nationals are scheduled for this weekend at the Podium in Spokane, Wash. The women’s shot put is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. EST on Saturday. As long as they’ve met the qualifying standard, the top two placers in each event will represent the U.S. in the World Indoor Championships March 18-20 at Štark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. The women’s shot put standard is 60- ¼, so Woodard has already met the standard.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 