Dec. 16, 2014
Wildcat Wins Women's Conference Field Athlete of the Week Award
In just her first meet of the indoor track and field season--and first indoor competition in two years--Central Washington University's Becki Duhamel (Sr., Wenatchee, WA) appears to already be in top form.
Duhamel finished fourth in the weight throw, with an NCAA Division II provisional national qualifying mark of 53-7 1/2, and also placed fourth in the shot put (43-4 1/3) at Saturday's Jackson's Open in Nampa, Idaho. For her efforts, she was named the field athlete of the week for Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's indoor track and field.
"I was hoping to just get the nerves out in the first meet," said Duhamel, adding that her performance exceeded her expectations. "Meeting the provisional mark, I was super happy about it. It's something less I have to worry about. Just being able to relax and throw now for the rest of the meets is going to be good."
CWU head track and field coach Kevin Adkisson acknowledged, "It was great to see her hit those marks, especially since she's coming off a redshirt season in indoor."
The 2013 GNAC Newcomer of the Year, who was also the conference champion in the indoor 20-pound weight throw that season, Duhamel spent last season revising and refining her throwing technique.
"It's a big mental game with me sometimes," she added. "I feel like I need to throw it hard instead of just relaxing and throwing it. Being able to work on that last season, and having it carry over to this first meet, is probably why it went so well."
Duhamel, a 2010 graduate of Wenatchee High School, originally attended Lehigh University, in Bethlehem, Pa., but transferred to CWU after her sophomore year there to be closer to home and because of the good things she had heard about Central. She will graduate in June with a business administration degree with specializations in supply chain management and accounting.
"I think doing track has helped me academically," she noted. "It definitely gives you time management skills."
Luke Plummer (So., Vaughn, WA – Peninsula), the defending GNAC indoor triple jump champion, won that event at the Jackson's Open, with a leap of 47-3 1/2, which also met the provisional national qualifying standard. He also took second in the long jump (22-2 1/2). Plummer was named an honorable mention GNAC Men's Track and Field track athlete of the week.
"It's was also very exciting to see Luke hit the provisional mark right off," Adkisson added.