By Rich Fisher | Correspondent
As usual, Alyssa Wilson broke a shot put record – her own record – in a storied meet. In fact, she broke it three times in one day at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
And as usual, the Donovan Catholic senior was unhappy that she didn’t set a personal best.
It’s what makes Alyssa tick.
“That’s one of the biggest meets you’re going to go to as a high school athlete and she went there and broke the record again and ends up having the four best throws in Penn Relays history,” Coach Ken Oliver said. “As a coach I couldn’t want more than that. But she’s hard on her self and always wants to be at her best. You like coaching athletes like that because she’s always motivated to do more.”
Wilson won her second consecutive Penn Relays gold medal in shot and was named the meet’s Outstanding Athlete for individual events. Her winning throw was 53-7 on the third throw of trials. She also had throws of 52-1½ and 53, which both broke last year’s record throw of 51-6½.
But none of them were better than the personal best 57-5½ she threw at the Eastern State Invitational in February, which set an indoor national record. And that bothered her.
“I just couldn’t punch through the ball and my nerves got to me,” Wilson told NJ.com immediately afterward. “I ended my indoor season with (57 feet), so I’d like to be right back up there so people don’t think I fell off.”
It’s doubtful many people think that, but it’s the way that Wilson thinks. She has set countless records in New Jersey and beyond, but beating herself is what matters most. And that’s hard for anyone to do.
“She’s competing against her own records, competing against history,” Oliver said. “For her to go down there and win Penn two years in a row, that’s not done very often. That’s something she will have with her for the rest of her life. In the moment I think she was hoping for a bigger throw but I think when she looks back she’ll be pretty happy with her accomplishments down there.”
She’s breaking records of girls and women who have been Olympians,” Oliver said. “Once she’s done, there will be lot there for her to reflect on and I’m sure she’ll be really proud of her achievements.”
For now, her goal is to reach 58 feet by the end of the season and win all the titles she has owned over the years – Shore Conference, sectionals, states and Meet of Champions. Wilson does it all without fanfare. She shows little emotion after a huge accomplishment, and is quiet and soft spoken when discussing her successes.
“She works extremely hard every day and when she wins something like this and breaks a record, you don’t see a lot of celebration from her,” Oliver said. “She’s that type of kid. She never puts it in anyone’s face, she respects the sport, the event she’s doing and the record she’s breaking. She just kind of goes about her business.
“She loves what she does, she’s just not screaming and yelling like some people are, which is kind of refreshing sometimes. She doesn’t talk trash, she really respects her opponents and teammates. She does it the right way, with sportsmanship and hard work.”
And it seems there is never a moment that is too big for her.
“She wants to be in that moment, she wants to be the best,” Oliver said. “She’s poised. Any type of pressure situation she’s put in, even since her freshman year, she steps up and has that special type of composure great athletes have.”