Jaime Springer, athletic training sophomore from Lloydminster, Canada, spent her summer training for javelin competitions throughout Canada. She not only succeeded individually, but also managed to help team Alberta, her native province, to a championship at the Western Canadian Games

      With a throw of 139 feet and eight inches, she placed second overall in the Western Canadian Games held in Kamloops, Canada. This achievement gave 18 out of their 210 total points to team Alberta, eventually landing them atop the winner’s stand above all other teams representing the western provinces.

      “I knew going into the event I would place in the top three as long as I performed to my expectations,” said Springer.

      However, placing second was not her first success of the summer. In order to compete in the Western Canadian Games, Springer had to first qualify at the Calgary Track and Field Javelin Championships.  In this event, she landed top honors with the farthest throw of 143 feet, placing her first overall.

      “It was great to win my first event after our Nicholls track season. I did not have a lot of time to train, but I threw consistently and was very pleased with my performance,’ she said.

      Furthermore in terms of success, Springer placed fifth at the Junior-Senior Canadian Track and Field Championships in July.  There, she competed against some of the top athletes in Canada, two of whom she will now be competing against in the Southland Conference.

      “Competition is always tough there, I did not throw what I would have liked, but it is always beneficial to compete against such talented athletes because you can feed off their performances to push yourself farther,” Springer said.

      Preparation this success began in seventh grade when she was given an ultimatum to either play softball or throw javelin; the decision was based on her belief that track could eventually take her farther in life.

      While in Canada, during school breaks, Springer trains at Split City Sonics track club working on the ins and outs of her approach to the sport. This past summer, she worked primarily on her technique, but conditioned and weight trained in her off time.

      Undoubtedly, all of her preparation and competition will be useful in the future. “Through all my competitions this summer, I managed to tweak my approach in terms of angles and my blocks.  Javelin is a very technical sport and requires every muscle to work together at once, which makes working hard so important,” Springer said.

      In terms of her expectations for the upcoming track season, Springer said “I have set my goals fairly high for this season and my teammates and I have full intention to reach them. If we can write in a few more conference champions and preliminary qualifiers into the history books, it will definitely be a successful season.”