New to track, Amarachi Njoku amazes with shot-put skill
By Mike BergerCanton High School track got a boost this winter from junior Matt Sidney, who reached the nationals in the high jump, and senior Amarachi Njoku, who came out for indoor track for the first time and reached the New England Championships with her performance in the shot put.
Njoku won the shot put at the Hockomock League Championships, placed second in the Class C Meet, fourth at All States — with her best-ever throw of 38 feet, four inches — and 15th in the New Englands.
She said her friends convinced her to go out for indoor track and give the shot put a chance. “I am very shocked as to how well I could throw it,” she said.
Her first practice throw in early December was 33 feet, three inches, a mark she extended by some five feet over the season.
Njoku and teammate Chidimma Nwanko, a junior, gave Canton a very potent 1-2 attack in the shot put, which is becoming a strong event for the girls’ track team. Njoku will also be adding the discus to her outdoor track events this spring.
“She is a very gifted athlete who works very hard,” head coach Conor Sheehan said. “We are lucky to have her and Chidimma. Both are very strong girls and very coachable. We will be very strong in the shot put this spring.”
Njoku believes she can get even better with more weight training to increase her leg and arm strength.
Noting that the winter team enjoyed one of its best records in years (4-4), Njoku said she is looking forward to continued success in the spring season.
A senior at CHS, Njoku is a member of the school newspaper staff.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=1842
Posted by Mike Berger
on Apr 1 2010. Filed under High School, Sports.
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