In her first major meet of the 2011 track season, Nneka Anyanwu of
Westview (San Diego) put the shot 42 feet, 6½ inches.
Not bad for a rower.
Actually, it would be more accurate to say being called by her rowing coach the best young talent he's seen in 15 years isn't bad for a thrower.
"Rowing in the offseason really helped develop her upper-body strength," said Tim Medlock, Anyanwu's track coach who allows her to complete track drills early so she can make it to Mission Bay where the San Diego Rowing Club practices.
Guillermo Lemus, coach of the 70-member SDRC, who shows the same kind of flexibility when it comes to weekend competitions where Nneka's track invitational meets might conflict with regattas, also saw the benefits of track.
"Her fitness level when she came to us in September was very good because of track," he said. "She has a lot of natural ability but her strength came from track."
Anyanwu not only reached 42-6½ in the Rancho Bernardo Bronco Invitational, all four of her efforts were beyond 40 feet, each major improvements on her 2010 personal record 39-5¼.
"I'm not surprised she did so well because Nneka is just fiery in the ring," said Medlock. "Outside the ring she is so unassuming, so very humble. She almost tries to steer clear of attention."
Lemus notices the same thing before Anyanwu steps into either the varsity quad or 8-man shell, the rowing events in which she excels.
"Nneka has a good attitude, she's a great teammate and she's always smiling," said Lemus. "But when she gets her racing game face, she is very competitive. Nneka does not like to lose."
Even she admits that.
"I went out for track because my friends talked me into it," said the 17-year-old senior who says she's 6-feet tall but Medlock says is closer to 6-1. "I really didn't know what I was doing but the first meet I set the school record in the discus.
"I like track because it's an individual sport and rowing because it's a team sport. When I'm in a rowing race, I focus hard on what I'm doing, I don't even look around until we're through the finish line."
Then she looks to see by how much the crew has won.
She has lofty goals in track and Lemus sees a big future for her in rowing, if she elects to focus on that sport.
Nneka noticed that the San Diego Section record in the shot is 46-10½ and she firmly believes that is within reach since she currently stands second in the state. She qualified for the California State Championships in the discus but sees no reason she can't add 10 or more feet to her 2010 season best of effort of 143-8.
Neither does Medlock, who said her form in both the shot, where she glides, and the discus has room for improvement that could produce dramatic jumps in distances, perhaps as soon as she steps into the rings at the Arcadia Invitational where for sure she'll get plenty of kindling for those competitive fires.
As for the 17-year-old's future in rowing, where practically every college that offers the sport in the state (where Lemus says she would prefer to stay close by her Nigerian-born parents) has taken notice, the coach says her future is unlimited.
"She's a complete athlete," he said of Anyanwu, who already is on the varsity crew and is placed in the middle because of her strength and steadiness. "She doesn't mind working hard and there is no question that if she stays with it, she will be a national-level rower.
"In the 15 years I've been coaching, she's the best I've seen. It's too late for her to be selected for the 2012 National Team that will compete in the London Olympics (and trains at the nearby Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista), but if she gets in a school with crew, 2016 is a real possibility."
Lofty words? Not in Lemus' mind, not after a recent discussion after a race her team won.
"I asked her if she ever thought she'd lose," he said. "She looked at me and said, ‘It never went through my mind.' And she was serious."
Not that track coaches haven't taken notice, either.
"She has so much left in her," said Medlock. "Every coach I've spoken to says the sky is the limit."