By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

MESA —  Annabelle Nally knew it would take one of her best throws to win the shotput May 17 at the Open state track and field championships.

She probably didn’t know that best would be her very first throw of the competition.

The ALA-West Foothills senior won the shotput with a throw of 43 feet, 1.5 inches. Her winning throw came on her first throw of the competition.

That was on the heels of placing fifth a day early in the Open meet’s discus — which helped her with momentum going into the next day’s shotput competition.

“My best throw in the disc was a six-foot PR (personal record),” Nally said on May 17. “I was in the first flight, and ended up PRing and on the podium. So that definitely helps how I’m feeling today.”

Nally’s second throw of the discus turned out to be her best, at 130-feet, 3 inches. It helped her stay ahead of three competitors who were within two feet of Nally’s top throw.

Fellow senior Sophia Gerken of Liberty outhrew Nally by eight inches in the discus to claim fourth place. Another senior, Juliana Garcia of Basha, won the discus with a throw of 144-feet, 1 inch.

All six of Nally’s shotput throws, in the second flight and the finals, sailed 40 feet or beyond. The runner-up — Sydnee Finch of Round Valley — had a strong first throw like Nally did, logging 42-feet, 9-inches.

Nally was one of the few Division IV athletes at the Open meet in representing the Guardians. While hasn’t decided on a college destination yet, she wants to continue throwing.

Nally and Finch didn’t have some of the top-seeded seniors among their competitors in the shotput, in terms of who was throwing well that day. Garcia didn’t surpass 37-10 in her three throws, while Sophia Boonzaaijer of Glendale Prep placed 15th.

Boonzaaijer had a tough weekend overall. Her best shotput throw was 37-feet, 2-inches with a foul to the right on her first throw, missing the finals.
Friday, May 16, in the discus, Boonzaaijer, the No. 2 seed in the event, fouled on all three throws.

Glendale Prep coach Eric Webdale, whose team was one of the few Division V squads at the Open meet, said the senior is generally good at refocusing after a tough performance.

“I’ll think she’ll be fine,” Webdale said.

Boonzaaijer won the Open title in the shotput in 2024, when she was qualified for the meet in both that event and the discus.

“She’s, by far, the best thrower that we’ve had,” Webdale, the ninth-year Griffins coach, said.
Boonzaaijer was seeded No. 4 in the discus this year.

The senior would have liked to head off to Hillsdale College in Michigan with more momentum, but seems happy with her long list of Glendale Prep accomplishments.

“I try to just listen to my coach and stay out of my head,” Boonzaaijer said of her throwing approach. “I just try to take subtle cues and not let the pressure get to me. I try to drill, in between throws, and stay in motion, so that when I get back in the ring, I don’t have to think about my technique too much.”

Boonzaaijer said one thing she likes about smaller Midwestern college track programs, like Hillsdale’s, is that there is usually a robust indoor schedule paired with the outdoor season.

“There will be lots of chances to compete, indoors and outdoors,” Boonzaaijer said.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.   Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

Jason W. Brooks
Associate Editor

Jason W. Brooks is a News editor for the Daily Independent and the Chandler Independent.

He covers the Chandler area for both yourvalley.net and the monthly print edition while writing for and assisting in the production of the Daily Independent.

Brooks is a well-traveled journalist who has documented life in small American communities in nearly all U.S. time zones.

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised there and in suburban Los Angeles, he has covered community news in California, New Mexico, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and northern Arizona.