Penn Relays 2018: Cherokee alum Woodard wins 2nd straight title in college shot put

Jessica Woodard's final Penn Relays appearance in the shot put admittedly may not have been her best performance this season, but it was enough to win her second straight title.

The Cherokee grad, who is now a redshirt senior at the University of Oklahoma, took yet another Penn Relays title with a top throw of 16.96 meters in the finals.

The title performance marked the first time this outdoor season that she did not clear 17 meters on her best throw. She was able to beat out University of Indiana’s Kahyla Dawson, whose best throw was 16.88. Woodard also fouled on a couple of throw attempts, but came through in the end.

“I was kind of struggling today with putting it together at the finish,” Woodard said. “But, technically I think I was spot on. I was in the right place going into every other meet, but today I just had to get it together and pull one out.”

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Woodard added: “It’s my only throw this year that’s been below 17 meters, my only final throw that’s been below that. I’ve had 16 highs in my series in the past couple of weeks, but probably my worst meet this year. I just had to get it done and come out with a ‘W’

It was her third total title at the Penn Relays, which included her senior year of high school at Cherokee, as well as her junior season with Oklahoma. She was able to come through in her final meet in this area, where her family, along with Cherokee’s coaches, were able to watch her compete.

“I think it’s always great to come back to Penn, because it’s always been like a home meet for me,” Woodard said. “It’s funny, we just had our Oklahoma home meet last week, so it’s like two home meets in a row. It’s always nice to be in front of a home crowd, familiar faces, and just have that love from everybody that’s been here with me and along the way so far.”

Woodard added: “It also reminds me where I came from, where everything started. Without them, and without this place, I probably wouldn’t be the athlete that I am. It’s just a cool environment to come back to, for sure.”

She still has the Big 12 Conference outdoor meet in two weeks, after she won the indoor meet back in February. Then, she'll look to compete in regionals and nationals.

Mike Gurnis may be reached at mgurnis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeGurnis. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.

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