Florida State University Athletics
Kanuchova Hammers Out Penn Relays Title
4/25/2019 11:51:45 PM | General, Men's Track and Field, Track and Field
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Veronika Kanuchvoa seized control of the championship section of the women’s hammer with her third-round throw in the shadow of historic Franklin Field, then put the competition to rest in the fourth round on Thursday afternoon.
Kanuchova, a senior from Slovakia, unleashed her would-be winning mark of 65.62 meters (215-3) and cruised to her first Penn Relays victory.
It was the third win of the season in four starts for Kanuchova, who sat out the 2018 season as a medical redshirt after placing fifth at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“Veronika got some good lessons coming out of this meet,” FSU director of field events, Dorian Scott said. “She started out real slow. We learned that if there are not 70-meter girls in there, it doesn’t mean we don’t go down and open up at 62 meters. If the competition isn’t as good as us we have to put the hammer down early and really stow it away.”
Kanuchova outdistanced runner-up Madi Malone of Auburn (64.66m/213-1) to improve on her runner-up finish in 2017 at the meet.
Lauri Paredes briefly flirted with the Noles’ second win of the day, but settled for a runner-up finish in the women’s championship division of the javelin. The sophomore from Paraguay, who was third at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships, took the lead in the fifth round with her series-best mark of 54.30 meters (178-1).
That lead was fleeting as Auburn’s Kylee Carter followed with a fifth-round throw of 56.31m (184-8) to regain a lead she would not relinquish. Carter and Paredes came into the meet ranked Nos. 3 and 7, respectively.
“What Lauri learned is that we’ve got a ways to go, and when the pressure is on we have to execute our technique,” Scott said. “She didn’t get the win, but we got a lot of good lessons that will help us more than the win at nationals, regionals and conference.”
FSU head coach Bob Braman, who was on hand for the competition, was not unhappy with the way the women performed.
“I thought Veronika and Lauri competed really well,” Braman said. “Both had to make adjustments with their technique during the competition, and that’s a great rehearsal for the championship meets.
“Sometimes you have to will your way to a win and Veronika did that today. Similarly, Lauri took the lead on her second-to-last throw and put herself in position to win. Successful gut-checks are great references for future challenges.”
That’s the reason Scott, whose athletes have now won seven Penn Relays throws titles in six season, brings his group to the meet each year.
“The biggest thing is Penn Relays prepares us for what we’re going to face at the championship meets,” Scott said. “We got some good work done, we learned some things, but we’re definitely not there…
“It’s the reason why we come to Penn Relays every year. Even if there is not the greatest competition, everyone wants to win Penn Relays. That pressure is coming from everyone and it’s so close to the conference meet that it gives me the film and a good idea that, ‘Hey when we wanted to win, this is what we did and this is wrong. We wanted to win and this is right.’ It prepares us to move forward.”
Thursday’s action culminated with the men’s 10,000-meter run where a pair of freshmen – Paul Stafford and Matthew Newland – locked horns with a deep field, albeit competing unattached.
Stafford placed 12th overall in a time of 30:42.88 with Newland 19th in 31:08.53. It was the first 10,000-meter race on the track for both runners, who helped the Noles advance to 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
A pair of Noles will compete Friday at Penn Relays with junior college transfer Sanjae Lawrence starting the day in the college section of the men’s discus at 9 a.m., followed by junior Shanice Love at 11:30 in the championships section of the women’s discus. Love is the defending champion.
Lawrence will follow the discus with an appearance in the championship section of the men’s shot put. The Jamaica native is coming off a personal-best throw of 18.95 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays.
A group of Seminoles will also join the competitive fray Friday at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Fla., where the action begins at 3 p.m. in the women’s pole vault and concludes with the women’s 5000-meter run at 9:05 p.m.
The 200-meter dash will be the featured event for the Noles on the first day of competition, where Janae Caldwell, Karimah Davis, Shauna Helps and Jayla Kirkland chase NCAA East qualifying marks in the 200 at 7:30 p.m. The men, led by NCAA East hopefuls Kyle Fearrington, Darryl Gay, Darryl Haraway and Michael Timpson, follow at 7:50 p.m.
You can keep track of the Noles from both venues via Twitter @FSU_Track.