There is no better time for an athlete to record a personal record than when they are competing in the state meet.
And that is precisely what Elizabethton High School’s Camryn Koroma and Jasmine Roberts did Thursday as they competed in the 2017 TSSAA Class A-AA State Meet on the campus of Middle Tennesse State University.
Competing in the girls’ discus throw, Koroma PR’ed with a toss of 117 feet and 10 inches on her first throw. The attempt was good enough for a second-place finish.
“I PR’ed today, so I feel pretty swell,” said
I am just happy that everybody made it here, and I happy to place second. I just thank God all this.”
For Roberts, who is a freshman, Thursday was her first time competing at the state meet. With a personal best of 106 feet and seven inches, Roberts took third place.
“It is really exciting because I came in here thinking that because I was a freshman, I wasn’t going to do too well, ” said Roberts. “From the beginning of the season to now, I have improved. I am just happy I did what I did today.”
Roberts and Koroma placed behind Signal Mountain’s Camryn Bowman who took the title with a throw of 133 feet.
“There are some people that you have to train hard for,” said Koroma about Bowman. “Then there are some people that even if you do train hard for, you just can’t get there. It takes time. Hopefully, if I work hard, I can get there.”
During their time in Murfreesboro, Koroma and Roberts have become friends with Bowman, and Roberts credits Bowman with helping her during the meet.
“She has been a real help,” said Roberts. “Every time I throw, she is like, ‘Try this, do this. You got it.’ She has been a real big encouragement for all of us.”
Elizabethton head track and field coach Leslee Bradley said that Koroma did so well because she came into the meet with the right mindset.
“She just came into the day focused,” said Bradley. “The last three weeks of the season, she has been like, ‘OK, it is go time.’ She has been working, working really hard and putting a lot of time in at the weight room and putting a lot of time in on her technique.”
Bradley said that for Roberts to finish in third during her first state meet is a big accomplishment.
“It is huge,” said Bradley. “Her first throw was out of the sector. She just needed to relax. Once she relaxed, which is hard to do as a freshman, but she relaxed and put two good throws out there. She threw a season best and a PR, and this is the time you need to do that.”