Winger secures spot on 11th consecutive national podium, Allman rebounds from third-place finish at NCAA final to capture discus title

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

DES MOINES – It was a matter of delayed gratification for Valarie Allman.

Kara Winger just remains focused on a gratifying end to her prestigious career.

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Allman, a fifth-year senior at Stanford, rebounded from the disappointment of a third-place finish May 9 at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships to capture her first USATF Outdoor Championship title in the discus throw Thursday with a fourth-round throw of 208 feet, 6 inches (63.55m).

Winger, 32, repeated as javelin champion with a sixth-round throw of 206-3 (62.88m), securing her eighth career title, the second-highest total in the event in U.S. history, trailing only the record 11 championships won by Dorothy Dodson (1939-49).

“It’s really special. And if I choose to close out my career in 2020 and am fortunate enough to win out, that would be 10, and a nice round number like that would be great,” Winger said. “I’ve had four competitions this year, all over 60m, so to feel like I can drop a javelin 60m again, it brings me so much joy. It took me everything I had last year to throw 62m, but now I feel like I’m in a little bit of a comfort zone at that distance and have the ability to push it out near the American record and 66m again.”

Winger threw the American record 218-8 (66.67m) on the same runway in the sixth round at the 2010 final and managed to place third at the last USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines in 2013, despite being nine months post-operation following ACL surgery.

Winger’s victory extended the longest active streak by any American athlete with her 11th consecutive podium finish at nationals. Florida’s Avione Allgood was second at 185-6 (56.54m) and former Rice All-American Ariana Ince took third at 183-7 (55.97m).

“I’m really proud of that. Even through a knee injury and surgery, and a shoulder injury and surgery, I’m just happy to have the podiums and to have people constantly pushing the top level of American javelin throwing, that’s what I’ve always wanted. I want to lead by example.”

Winger has benefited from a coaching change this season, working with Dana Lyon, a two-time NCAA Division 1 winner at Air Force in 2005-06 and a U.S. national champion in 2007.

“I was very frustrated last season. It was fine. But it was the same as it’s been for a long time and I just said to myself, ‘I’m going to get what I want out of this career, something has to change,’” Winger said. “This year is brand new. It’s fun. It’s rejuvenating. It’s better for my body. I just feel like I have a lot more control over my throw.”

Allman also benefited from working with Zeb Sion, the national women’s assistant coach of the year by USTFCCCA, the past two years, earning her first spot on a U.S. national team last year following a third-place finish in Sacramento and competing at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in London.

Although she produced a personal-best 212-3 (64.69m) at last year’s Cardinal Classic, it wasn’t recognized as a program record since it was Allman’s redshirt season. Her performance Thursday finally broke the school’s oldest women’s track and field record of 207-8 (63.30m) held by Carol Cady since 1983.

“It feels pretty cool. This season has been such a journey in a lot of ways. I think, often times, when you get injured, it’s hard to keep being resilient and it’s cool that with some persistence and a lot of support from my coach and my family and my teammates that we were able to have a good meet (Thursday),” Allman said. “It’s exciting. (Thursday) was the first day I truly felt like myself and was really able to be a competitor, rather than have some sort of thought in the back of my mind. As an athlete, that’s what you want. You want to go in hungry and want to be able to feel like you are pushing your limits. I’m really excited to keep this season going and see what else can happen.”

Allman also held the lead heading into the sixth round at the NCAA final, but was passed by both Arizona State’s Maggie Ewen and Kansas State’s Shadae Lawrence. Although Ewen reached 200-6 (61.13m) in the fifth round, Allman didn’t let history repeat itself Thursday, leading a podium of all collegiate performers, with Iowa’s Laulauga Tausaga-Collins finishing third at 198-11 (60.65m).

“I was having a little bit of flashbacks, but I believe everything happens for a reason. Back after the injury, our mantra was kind of this concept of delayed gratification. It was going to take a lot of work, but in the end, it was going to work out how  it was supposed to, so I feel really fortunate for how (Thursday) went,” Allman said. “NCAAs was pretty heartbreaking in a lot of ways. It was so cool to be part of such a great team effort, but I think you always want to be the best you can and in conditions like that, it’s hard to really excel. As soon as that was over, it took a couple of days (to regroup), but we were excited for the next competition.”