It might be hard to believe, but there was a time when Jacquelyne Leffler had no idea what she was doing with a discus in her hands.
Or a shot put. Or a javelin.
It might be hard to believe, because ever since Leffler reached the high school level, she’s been masterful in all three events.
A junior at Northern Heights, Leffler enters this weekend’s State track and field meet in Wichita as the two-time defending Class 3A champion in the discus and the shot put. She is expected to make it three in a row in both events by the time the two-day meet is over, and she could be considered the odds-on favorite to pick up her first javelin title as well.
It is a far cry from the early stages of her field career, when the complicated technique of throwing heavy objects long distances got the better of Leffler more than a few times.
“I remember the first day of practice, I fell down trying to do a couple of drills in the discus,” Leffler said, recalling the early days of her throwing career as a middle school student. “It just kind of happened.”
But even though she stumbled around in those first few practices, something clicked.
Leffler exhibited a natural ability early on — despite a few missteps here and there — and her talent was obvious from the start.
“Everybody falls down when they’re learning,” said Rick Ginter, Leffler’s throwing coach in middle school and at Northern Heights. “Something like that — something that is embarrassing — that happens to all the great ones. They all have to start somewhere.
“From the first day, I knew she had the chance to be something special.”
In the days, weeks, months and years since then, Leffler has dedicated herself to becoming one of the best field athletes not just in the area or in the state, but in the nation.
Last year, at the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships, Leffler won the shot put in the intermediate girls division, finished second in the discus and placed third in the javelin, earning three All-American honors. This past February, Leffler placed third in the shot put at the KSU Open indoor track and field meet in Manhattan — in the college division.
Her throw of 44 feet, 11 inches was behind only Kelsey Poliansek of Cowley County (47-2 1/2) and Kellie Wartick of Wichita State (46-2 3/4).
“She’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had,” Ginter said. “Everything she’s earned, she deserves. She wants to reach her potential, and she’ll do whatever she has to do — staying late, extra lifting, practicing on weekends — whatever she has to do, she does.”
It’s pretty clear, then, to see why Leffler is expected to defend her titles in the shot and discus. She has the best throw in Class 3A in each event heading into the weekend, as she has thrown 45-2 in the shot and 151-1 in the discus this season, both marks that far outdistance her competition.
Not to be outdone in the javelin, Leffler enters the State meet with the top throw in Regional action from a week ago with a distance of 135-2.
“I’d like to win all three events,” she said. “It (winning State titles) is always in the back of my mind.”
If there’s one thing she hasn’t done yet, that’s put her name next to a State record or two.
She came close last year.
In her final attempt in the shot at the State meet, Leffler said she let loose on a throw that “would have been the State record.” But it was ruled that she fouled on the attempt, and so the throw was void.
“You’ve got to let it go,” she said, “and move on to whatever is next.”
She has fairly specific goals in each event this year: At least 160 feet in the discus, 45 feet or more in the shot and “anything over 135 in the javelin, I’ll be happy with,” she said.
Those numbers would all but lock up two State titles and a couple State records, and put her in the running to sweep all three throwing events. It also would move her one step closer to completing a goal she set for herself when she first got to Northern Heights.
“My goal since my freshman year has been to win at least two events at State all four years,” she said. “That would be nice. I’d like that a lot.”
First things first, though, and that means focusing on this year’s meet.
After all, winning State titles “shows that all your hard work pays off in the end,” Leffler said, “but I just like competing.”
“As long as I place and throw as best as I can,” she said, “that’s all you can really ask for.”