A SHOT AT THE TOP: CHS's JENKINS EXCELS IN SHOT PUT, DISCUS

Cape Central sophomore Heather Jenkins is already at the top.

And the only direction she can go, it seems, is up.

As an underclassman, the discus and shot-put phenom has already posted throws that, in years past, would have won state championships. She has qualified for the junior nationals in both events.

Earlier this year, the strong and athletic Jenkins broke the school record in the shot with a throw over 42 feet. She has also posted an amazing toss of 142 feet in the discus.

"That 142 in the discus is the best that I know of in the state," said Central throws coach Vince Powell.

A couple of years ago, Central graduate Laura Lukens, who previously owned the school shot record, won state with a discus throw of 145 feet. It was 15 feet better than the runner-up.

That said, Jenkins, at her best, is the best in the state in the discus. And her throws in the shot are among the top three or four recorded this year in the state. And even though Fox High School brings in some impressive distances -- a 132 in the discus and shot distances in the mid-30s -- it's logical to expect Jenkins to win Saturday's district tournament.

But repeating great throws hasn't been easy for Jenkins.

"Because she's just a sophomore, she's inconsistent," Powell said. "But she's getting better all the time. Really, it's up to her. If she throws well, she should make it to state."

"Right now, she's at the top," Central girls coach Lawrence Brookins said. "She has a chance to do a lot in the state championships."

And she seems prepared for the challenge.

Powell said Jenkins is a regular in the weight room and can outlift some of the guys.

But the inconsistency is a result of faulty execution, something not atypical of a sophomore.

"She's dangerous," Brookins said. "She's got flaws in her technique. There's no telling what she could do if she got everything lined up."

And Jenkins is aware of her shortcomings as a thrower.

It's the cognitive and psychological approach, she realizes, that she needs to master.

"I'm physically fit," said Jenkins, a state qualifier in the shot last year. "But I need to get my mental part back too. That's what I'm focusing on. On the day before a track meet, you can't be thinking about just anything. You can't let things bother you. The day of a track meet, when I step in the ring, I'm thinking about one thing."

"I think physically she could do whatever she wanted," Powell said. "We've talked about the mental part of it -- being more consistent, doing the right thing over and over again. We're working on getting her focused. Right now, she's streaky. We want her to be able to pop it out there whenever she wants to."

Part of Jenkins' mental approach, assuming that she wins at district, is to not be intimidated at the state meet.

"Last year was really about getting experience and going out there and seeing how everything went and see how everything was ran," she said. "This year, I'm hoping to place up there and hoping to come out on top."

As a thrower, Jenkins may be falsely tagged with a label that she's not as athletic as the sprinters and jumpers.

But, according to Powell and Brookins, that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Sometimes throwers have stereotypes of being big thugs," Brookins said. "But in junior high she ran sprint relays. That's a testament that she's just as good an athlete as the sprinters and jumpers."

"She still has the quickness and explosiveness," Powell said. "That's what makes her a good thrower."