A javelin thrower at heart

Amanda Martin has come a long way since she first picked up a javelin last spring, transforming herself from a novice into one of the top collegiate javelin throwers in New England.

The former Triton Regional High standout, who took up the event as a senior only after a basketball knee injury forced her to switch from softball to track, finished second in the javelin at the New England Intercollegiate Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held last weekend at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Now a freshman at the University of Connecticut, Martin uncorked a throw of 137 feet 6 inches at the MIT track to help her school take first place among 37 teams.

The Rowley native, who also placed fourth in New England in the shot put, was a late addition to the UConn program. But she caught the eye of quite a few college coaches after she broke the Triton school record in the javelin and won the EMass Division 3 title last spring.

Before UConn's head coach Bill Morgan came calling late last May, Martin was headed to Southern New Hampshire University to play basketball.

Instead, she spent the winter competing in the shot put event for the UConn women's indoor team, finishing sixth at the Big East championships and second at the New England finals. At the Big East indoor meet, she heaved the shot a personal-best 46 feet 1 1/2 inches.

Martin said she was nervous about competing at the college level at first, but now she loves it.

''It's awesome. You get so hyped up just looking around at all the talent," she said. ''There's probably future Olympians that you're watching run and jump and throw. It's crazy with all the talent in the Big East, especially with 16 teams. It's the biggest conference in the country."

Although she has performed well in the shot put for both the indoor and outdoor season, Martin still considers herself a javelin thrower at heart, which is why she was upset that she took fifth in both the javelin and the shot put at the Big East Outdoor Championships on May 7, after being seeded third in the javelin.

But she has another chance for redemption this spring, after her personal best throw, 150 feet 7 inches, during the season qualified her for the NCAA Division 1 East Region championships, which start Friday at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. As a gauge of her progress, Martin's best throw in high school was the Triton record of 128 feet 3 inches.

Martin said she could not imagine where she would be if she had not serendipitously found track and field.

''I was devastated about what happened with my knee at the time," she said, ''but I don't want to think about where I'd be if that didn't happen."