06.01.08
Jelmini!
Competition nowhere near Shafter junior’s shot put, discus marks
BY ZACH EWING, Californian staff writer
e-mail:zewing@bakersfield.com | Saturday, May 31 2008 11:39 PM
Last Updated: Sunday, Jun 1 2008 12:04 AM
Shafter throwing coach Matt Godbehere found some shade Saturday afternoon and sat in his lawn chair, a pleasant day at Cerritos College’s Falcon Stadium gone exactly as planned.
Anna Jelmini smiled and posed for pictures, pleased but trying to look like she wasn’t sure what the big fuss was about.
The rest of Jelmini’s entourage, however, gave it away: The buzzing, handshaking and congratulating was the result of Jelmini’s long-awaited state championship.
“I feel great right now,” said Jelmini, her gold medals swinging from her neck. “I worked so hard this whole year, and it paid off. … I try not to look too conceited, but I feel really extremely happy.”
A couple of big early throws in the discus gave Jelmini a cushion no other competitor could touch, and her top mark of 169 feet, 4 inches beat the next-closest Californian by nearly nine feet.
Later, the shot put brought more of the same. All six of Jelmini’s throws were better than the best throw from the rest of the field. She threw a 42-9 on her first attempt, something that ended up good enough to win a state title, but used a 48-3.5 on her fourth throw as her best mark.
“That’s it, it’s over,” said Anna’s father, Rick Jelmini, a camera in hand beside the shot pit.
The double state championship, which single-handedly gave Shafter 20 team points and a share of fourth place in the state, capped an undefeated season for Jelmini, one in which she dealt with being the favorite week in and out.
“I try not to think about the pressure,” Jelmini said. “I feel really excited and relieved.”
Jeanette DeWitt of Nipomo finished second in the discus in 160-10, followed by two more of Kern’s finest: Kayla Kovar of Burroughs took third in 154-10, and Stockdale’s Alex Collatz placed fourth with 150-3.
“I felt like I did what I came here to do,” Kovar said.
Jelmini’s double title has only been done four times before in CIF history, and not since Stephanie Brown of Arroyo Grande did it in 1998. Fullerton’s Natalie Kaaiawahia turned the trick in 1981 and ‘83, and Bakersfield’s Melisa Weis doubled in 1989.
“She did what she needed to do,” Godbehere said. “She focused on herself, and by doing that, it took care of business.”
The feat deserves celebration. And despite outward modesty, there was no shortage of just that in the Generals’ camp — you couldn’t have wiped the smile off Jelmini’s face with a scrub brush, Mom and Dad beamed with pride, and Godbehere’s eyes welled up at the thought of the two-time state champion he had guided.
“She’s a wonderful girl,” Godbehere said. “She works really hard, and this is very deserved.”
