Photos by Heather Belcher
Charleston – Prior to giving up basketball after her junior year, Beckley’s Bella Staples was a rebounding specialist.
Friday in Charleston required her to rebound in a different way and she did just that.
After posting a personal record of 42 feet in shot put back on April 1, Staples finished third in the event in the state meet Friday. So she regrouped for her next event and walked out with the gold.
Staples dominated the field in the discus title tilt, winning the state title with a distance of 131-10 at Laidley Field in Charleston.
Nerves admittedly got the better of Staples once, but she didn’t allow it to happen again.
“Shot put is definitely my thing and I had just got there so I was super nervous and just shaky like any other athlete would be and I came up short just like last year,” Staples said. “I cried a little bit, got the jitters out and everybody was like, ‘Well, discus isn’t your thing so you have nothing to lose’ and I agreed and felt a lot better. I just got to talking to a bunch of people and it wasn’t as serious as it was last time. I just tried to do the best that I could instead of putting so much pressure on myself and I did well.”
Staples, noticeably more relaxed, excelled Friday. She squatted in the waiting area, grabbed some dirt for her hands and put on a show with three of her throws clearing 120 feet. Her penultimate toss was the winning one as she beat Sierra Davis of Preston, the favorite, by six feet.
Staples’ previous PR was 114 feet on April 29 and her winning distance on Friday was the top one in the state across all classes this season.
“My dad gave me some food which helped,” Staples said. “I came with an empty stomach for shot by the time all the events had started. I had an empty stomach which didn’t help with the anxiety so I ate a little bit, cried and I started talking to my family.”
“I had some warmup throws and they landed exactly where I needed them to,” Staples continued. “That was justification that I was going to do okay. I don’t like chalk so I play in the dirt a little bit to get my hands dry and I just did my best. There was no pressure like there was for shot put.”
While discus wasn’t Staples’ top event throughout the season she had a belief she could excel in it and become a legitimate contender in Charleston. Her reps in practice yielded title-caliber results so it was only a matter of replicating those when it counted.
“I didn’t think I could really do it until really recently, like a week or two ago,” Staples said. “I’ve been really practicing throughout the season but I started to see results as the season went along. At practice they were landing a 140, 150, 120, 130 so I knew I had it in me here recently. It came together so I knew all I had to do was apply what I do every day.”
Rather than worry about how the day started, Staples is more content on focusing how it finished.
“It feel sooooo good!” Staples said. “It’s something nobody can ever take away from me!”
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
