Andrews not throwing away her shot
Lincoln senior is Call/Times girls track MVP
LINCOLN — After winning the shot put gold at the R.I. Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Providence Career & Technical Academy field house on Saturday, March 18, Lincoln High senior Samantha Andrews posed for photos on the medal stand.
One such image appeared on the front page of The Times’ Blackstone Valley Sports section the Monday after, and in it, she flashed a “Mona Lisa” type of smile, one depicting a bit of satisfaction with a triumphant heave of 36-4 ¼. It nevertheless shows that – deep down – she had some unfinished business in which to attend.
Some of that had to do with the fact she garnered only sixth in the 20-pound weight toss (48-7). Simply, you could tell she had expected more from herself.
According to throwing coach Brian Grant, approximately 24 hours after that state meet, he and she traveled to Harvard University to compete in the USA Track & Field New England Open Championships, an event not affiliated with interscholastic sports. Once there, she unleashed the short chain-and-ball a lifetime-best 49-10.
“She finished second; the only one to beat her was a college student,” Grant stated. “A week later, on Feb. 26, we went to the Weightarama Championships at PCTA. Rhode Island coaches host that because (officials) don’t recognize the weight throw at the New Englands, so it’s not held.
“She didn’t do well in the shot at New Englands, taking 20th with a distance of 35-1 ¼; her best was 37-0 ¼, so she wasn’t happy,” he added. “At the Weightarama the next day, she finally broke the 50-foot mark, throwing 51-10 to take third. She was ecstatic! It was about midday, and she ran over and gave me a high-five. She had PR’d by over three feet!
“A week later, we went to another New England Open-type event at PCTAand she threw 50-2 ½. She placed second only behind Ponaganset’s Gianna Rao, who had finished second at the New Balance Indoor Nationals at The Armory in New York.
“Once she eclipsed 50 feet in the weight for a second time, that validated all her work; that was the magic number she had been looking for all season. Sam is a really hard worker, both in the classroom and as a team member. What’s extraordinary about her is she’s always trying to help other kids, even when she’s doing her own workouts.
“She doesn’t have to do that, but chooses to.”
All winter long, she battled back from minor disappointments to achieve greatness, and that’s why she has been selected the 2017 Call/Times Girls Indoor Track MVP.
For Andrews, it all started with a victory in the shot put at the Sullivan Division Championships (37-0 ¼), not to mention a third in the 20-pound weight (46-7). As for the Class B meet, she again claimed the shot title (36-1 ¾) while placing fourth in the weight toss (47-7 ½).
Those merely set up her state crown in the shot – and everything that followed.
When asked what drives her, Grant grinned, “She’s just always trying to do better; she is constantly formulating and reformulating her goals. It doesn’t matter what anybody else is doing; she’s got her eyes on the prize, and that’s achieving a PR.
“Right now, she’s really focused on the outdoor season,” he continued. “She has the school records in the weight throw and shot, and the same in the outdoor hammer (161-9), shot (34-10) and javelin (106-0). She’s a couple feet shy of the discus school mark, so now she’s working on breaking those records.
“I have no doubt she’ll achieve them. The nice thing about having a kid like Sam is she makes all of the other kids around her try to keep up; they work harder, so she’s the consummate role model.
“For instance, the school record in the indoor weight had been 39-10 when she got here, and she told me her junior year, ‘I’m going to break it!’ She went out and threw 47-11.’ When she puts her mind to something, she gets it.
“When I mentioned how she helps inspire others, I had two girls this past (indoor) season throw over the previous school record – Maggie Tarmey went 4711, and Tori Tallo threw 41-1. That’s what I man by Sam sparking other kids’competitive nature.
“I’ll also say that her kid sister Jackie, who’s a freshman, wants to break her records.”
That being said, here are thumbnail sketches on other members of this AllArea contingent: