The Wolfpacker

74 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY BRUCE WINKWORTH W hen Rollie Geiger recruited Tremanisha Taylor out of Southern Vance High School in Henderson, N.C., four years ago, he knew he was getting a promising athlete and quality person from a great family. As much as he'd like to claim other- wise, however, he never envisioned Taylor emerging as the national-caliber performer she has become. "There's really three levels of athletes," Geiger said. "There's the ACC-level athlete that scores points. There's an athlete that gets to regionals. Then there's an athlete that advances out of regionals and gets to nationals. Those are three different levels. I always saw her as a conference-level ath- lete who would get to regionals." Taylor exceeded her coach's initial pro- jections early in her career, and as Geiger said that's a tribute to her work ethic and competitiveness. After redshirting as a true freshman, she broke out as a redshirt fresh- man in 2011-12, setting school records in both the discus and the shot put, earning All-ACC outdoors honors in the shot put with a second-place finish and advanc- ing to the NCAA Championships in both events. A year ago, Taylor announced her arrival on the national stage. She won the ACC indoor championship in the shot put, break- ing the school indoor record (53-7), then finished second outdoors for the second year in a row. This time, she took it several steps further by earning All-America hon- ors with a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Taylor has continued her forward pro- gression in 2013-14. After winning three events in the discus and one in the shot put in the regular season, she won the ACC outdoor championship in the shot put, be- coming the first NC State woman since Lawanda Henry (2009 and 2010) to do so. With qualifying marks for the NCAA re- gionals in both events already tucked away, she tuned up for nationals by winning the shot put at the Penn Relays April 24 and then taking second in the discus the fol- lowing day. Her shot put mark (57-9) in the Penn Relays set yet another school record. She won the event by nearly eight inches and is firmly on course for a strong finish to the 2014 season. "I never envisioned this kind of success when I first came here, especially in the shot put," Taylor said. "I came in as a 37- foot thrower. I came in and worked really hard and learned a lot. The coaches have really been great to work with." As for the coaches, Geiger gives all the credit to assistant coach Tom Wood, who coaches the throws for the Wolfpack. Wood has worked extensively with Taylor, and his handiwork has paid off handsomely. "Tom Wood does a terrific job with our athletes in the throws, and he's brought Trem along really nicely," Geiger said. "She's a real value because you have some- one who can score major points in two events. She's at a national level in both. "She has qualified in both those events for the national championships. That's dif- ficult. There are not many athletes who accomplish that in those two events." Taylor's ACC championship in the shot put this spring was not without dramatics. She went into her final throw needing a toss of 16.15 meters. She got that and then some with a heave of 16.47, a little more than 54 feet, to win handily. Her 34-centi- meter margin of victory amounted to more than 13 inches. "My mindset on the last throw [at the ACC Championships] was to get one last big throw off," Taylor said. "It was my last chance. I'd had troubles with my technique staying in the ring, so I wanted to concen- trate on that and get a big one off. When it landed, everybody was quiet and I didn't think it had gone that far. Then, when they announced the number, I was just elated." Taylor will compete in a last-chance meet, either in Charlottesville, Va., May 9-10 or in Raleigh May 16, then will move on to the NCAA Regional at Jack- sonville, Fla., the week of May 29-31. The final meet of the year is the NCAA Cham- pionships June 11-14 in Eugene, Ore. She was a second-team All-American with her 15th-place showing in 2013. Sev- eral of her throws in the shot put this year rank her among the very best in the nation as the postseason approaches. "I haven't really thought too much about winning," she said of a possible national championship. "All you can do is throw your best. You can't control what anyone else does. Winning it is always in the back of my mind, but my goal this year is to make first-team All-American. Maybe I'll think about that next year. I'm only think- ing about this year right now." Looking beyond this season, Geiger sees no reason why Taylor can't continue to raise her performances. "She gets better every year," Geiger said. "Trem has solid values, comes from a good family. For coaches, it's more than just how far you throw a shot put or a discus. She's committed to the university, committed to the program. And she's shown she can rise to the occasion. It doesn't matter if you're a high jumper, a long jumper, 1,500 meters, shot, discus, there's always that common characteristic among all those individu- als — they love the competition. They're committed to the sport, and that means practice every day. And on game day, it's about competition. "I think any time an athlete can win an event with their last jump or their last throw, they're competing. Trem won the shot put at ACCs on her last throw. That's competing. 'I know I'm behind, I'm gonna get this last throw and I'm gonna win.' She's very competitive." ■ Taylor, a redshirt junior, won the ACC indoor championship in the shot put last season and captured the ACC outdoor championship in the shot put this year. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS A TRUE COMPETITOR Through Hard Work, Tremanisha Taylor Has Become A National-Level Performer In The Shot Put And Discus "She gets better every year. Trem has solid values, comes from a good family. For coaches, it's more than just how far you throw a shot put or a discus. She's committed to the university, committed to the program." ■ Track & field head coach Rollie Geiger 74-75.Tremanisha Taylor.indd 74 4/29/14 11:58 AM

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