Baird ends Nike Nationals with three top ten finishes

Track & Field Sponsored by Potomac River Running

By Ben Ledbetter:

GREENSBORO, N.C. (June 21, 2008) – Natalie Baird is between her senior season at Park View High School and her freshman year at William and Mary and this recent grad sees this weekend’s Nike Outdoor Nationals at N.C. A&T State University as another opportunity to excel.

“I’ve got nothing to lose, just go out there and do my best,” Baird said after Friday’s shot put. Baird threw 43 feet, seven and a half inches, which was good enough for eighth place. That mark was near her average, she said.

On Saturday, she placed third in the discus with a throw of 152-03 and seventh in the hammer throw with a mark of 140-5. She finished eighth in the shot put Friday with a mark of 43-07.25.

To hone her technique in the discus she had recently started watching old footage of Greek discus thrower Anastasia Kelesidou. Baird said she has similarities with Kelesidou’s style, which involves shifting her weight to the left and leaning.

Although the rising freshman at William & Mary finished third in the discus, three of her six throws were fouls.

“The discus, it wasn’t one of my best days,” Baird said. “You can’t have your best day every day.”

Aslynn Halvorson of Charlotte won the discus with a throw of 154-2.

Baird is a newcomer to the hammer, having taken up the event about a year ago.

“I really actually started practicing the hammer in the fall,” she said. “I did meets with the Potomac Valley Track Club. They had the hammer and they said I should try it.”

Allison Horner of Marietta, Ga. won the hammer with a throw of 177-2.
For Baird, the hammer is not just an average throwing event.

“I like how you’re balancing against the ball,” she said. “It’s kind of like you have to work with it. You just can’t throw it.”

With the three high finishes this weekend, Baird feels she’s performing well and likes the newness of the hammer.

“I feel like I’m consistent,” Baird said about her performance at the meet. “The hammer, I’m excited about it because it’s a new thing. I’m ready to go to it when I go to college.”

More Loudoun athletes: Loudoun was well represented at the meet with Broad Run’s Sam Saidi 22nd in the high jump, Potomac Falls’s Josh Hardin 21st in the 5K, Loudoun Valley’s Theresa Trader 23rd in the 400 hurdles, Loudoun Valley’s Lauren Privette 15th in the long jump and 24th in the triple jump. Also in the emerging elite category (one step below the top division), Trader took third in the 100 hurdles and Potomac Falls’s Ryan Hagen was fifth in the 800.

See below for complete results