Photos by Heather Belcher
Independence sophomore Bella Green felt like she was going to do something special Saturday afternoon.
She had no idea just how special the day would be at the Chick-fil-A Beckley Invitational track meet.
Fully believing she was going to break the school record in the shot put, Green opened her day with a toss of 32 feet and two inches.
“I beat the old record by .1,” Green said. “This is only my second meet this year. The first meet was rainy and I really couldn’t do my glide. It was mostly a power throw and I threw it 29 (feet) and six (inches). I actually was able to glide today.”
Green started competing in the shot put in the eighth grade and quickly fell in love with the sport.
“Shot put is my favorite sport. I do cross-fit and lift weights, but I wouldn’t be throwing this far without cross-first,” Green said.
Mostly self-taught, Green has already received some interest at the next level and hopes to keep building on her success at such a young age.
“I don’t really have a throwing coach. I just watch videos and stuff,” Green said. “I have received some emails from colleges and I use that to push me for the future. I just want to see how far I can throw and that will hopefully give me a chance to go to a better school. Then I can actually get a throwing coach and have someone that watches me and critiques me.”
Green also competes in the discus throw for the Patriots and is a member of the 4×100 and 4×200 relays teams.
“I love running sprints. I used to run cross-country, but I am not built like a cross country runner,” Green said, laughing.
Throwing the discus is the newest adventure for Green, who admitted struggling with the technique.
“This is my first year doing discus. My first meet ever, I only threw it 39.5 (feet). The release is so difficult,” Green said. “Your spin will look beautiful and then when you release you don’t know where it might go.”
After showing how bright her future can be in the shot put, Green moved over to the discus and launched a throw of 98 feet and four inches.
The throw was good enough for first place in just her second high school meet.
