The Observer, April 27, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 26
Nwanna stands out in first year
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Obinna Nwanna is three inches away from qualifying for the National Championships. His personal record for the high jump, six feet four inches, is just short of the 6'7" mark needed to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships. "Hopefully I can get that couple extra inches and qualify this weekend," said Nwanna.
Nwanna has placed first and third in the high jump during the first two track meets this year. However, he hasn't always been a track star. "I started track my junior year of high school," said the freshman. "All my friends were doing it, so I gave it a try. The only event I really wanted to do was the high jump." Nwanna struggled his first year. "The technique didn't come until the end of senior year," said Nwanna. "It was tough because I was at 5'6" every meet and I knew that I could do better. But I still had fun with it."
Nwanna slowly improved as he grew more comfortable with the unfamiliar technique. "I set a goal of six feet for high school," he said. "The second-to-last meet of my senior year, I got six feet, which was really satisfying. My goal now is to hit two meters, which I haven't gotten to yet." Although the high jump is his main focus, Nwanna also competes in the triple jump, the long jump and the 4x100-meter relay. "I'm doing well in the triple jump and the 4x100. As far as the long jump, some days it's good and some days it's bad." One of those good days was at Oberlin during the indoor season, when he leaped six meters and into third place. "It's tough to work on all those events that I haven't competed in before," said Nwanna, a Maumee, Ohio native. Nwanna has benefited from the help of Case's coaching staff. "My technique has improved a lot since I started here. In high school, we didn't have a specific coach for the high jump. I do here, which has been very helpful," said Nwanna. "One of the things we're working on now is how I can't see what I'm doing in the air. They're helping me out with that. It's the little things that can make a huge difference. My form and technique[have] definitely changed."
Nwanna has noticed other differences between high school and college athletics. "It's a different atmosphere. There's more competition here than in high school. Here I try to do better every day; on the team we all help each other out and motivate each other during workouts."
Nwanna benefits from long spans of time between tournaments; the last time he had two weeks between jumps, he set his personal record of 6'4". "I get really bad shin splints when I jump. If I get a couple weeks off it really helps," said Nwanna.
Next year, Nwanna will add other events to his repertoire. "I think I'll be in some open running events like the 100 and 200 [meter dashes]", he said.
