For the second time in her collegiate career, St. John’s University junior Jamora Alves has qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., which began yesterday. She earned her spot in the discus with an outstanding performance at the NCAA East Regional. She previously competed in the championships her freshman year.
“It means everything to me because from the start I was working toward this,” said Alves. “I did more work in the weight room, like increasing the weights. Extra exercise, more core and being consistent.”
Alves competes in both the shot put and discus, and her discus season has been dominant. She not only earned Big East Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors but was also named Most Outstanding Women’s Field Performer of the Meet at the Big East Championships.
She is looking forward to meeting track and field athletes from around the country at the NCAA Championships. “I get to be more exposed to the sport,” said Alves, who credits having patience and being consistent as key elements to her success. Before leaving for Eugene, Alves emphasized drills and core work.
St. John’s director of track & field/cross country Aliann Pompey said overall this has been a good year. “We had some early bright spots, starting with our cross country [runners],” she said. “We had a freshman (Leyre Campo de Quevedo) who was our first in program history to be a Big East Female Cross Country Athlete of the Week.”
At the start of indoor track and field season, Nora Haugen broke her own school record in the 800 meters and Alves broke the school record for the shot put, which had stood for more than 15 years. The student-athletes carried that momentum into the outdoor season.
“We finished third to DePaul and UConn at [Big East Championships] with the most points we had scored at a Big East Outdoor conference meet, and we made some headway in areas we don’t typically score a lot in,” Pompey noted. “We had points all over the track and all over the field. That spoke to how complete the team was this year.”
Pompey and throws coach Lexia Robinson will accompany Alves to the NCAA Championships. Earning this spot was no surprise, Pompey said. “She’s been locked in and ready to go most of the year. She was working on a few technical issues that came together towards the end. She’s been good.”