Long shots in the field: ASU coach, athlete ranked low but aiming high

ROBERT TURBEVILLE
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
THIS IS THE SIXTH IN A SERIES PROFILING ARKANSAS ATHLETES WITH OLYMPIC CONNECTIONS.
FORMER OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALIST EARL BELL SPONSORED A MEET AT ARKANSAS STATE ON JUNE 14 CALLED DIA DE SALTO, SPANISH FOR "DAY OF JUMPING."

It turned out to be a day of dreams for ASU assistant track coach David Rodely and his standout freshman discus thrower, Jenny Webster. Both qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif., with their performances.
Rodely, who considers himself more of a discus guy, qualified for the trials in the shot put at the Bell meet. Webster qualified at the meet after Rodely convinced her to stay in town to compete.
Thanks to persistence and Dia de Salto, coach and pupil find themselves one step away from the Sydney games. Rodely, 32, will compete in shot put qualifying Friday at 6:45 p.m. Central. Webster, 19, will have discus qualifying at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
"It's turned out good so far," Rodely said. "I just hope it keeps rolling."
Making it to the Olympics won't be easy. Rodely qualified with a personal-best 63 feet, 81/2 inches, and Webster threw a school-record 175-9. But neither performance ranks in the top 10 this year by an American, according to Track and Field News. (Rodely is No. 15; Webster 21st.)
Webster, the Sun Belt Conference champion from Hurst, Texas, isn't even looking at the trials as a springboard to Sydney. She said 2004 is the Olympics for which she's aiming.
"This is kind of practice," Webster said. "Go, see what it is like, maybe see the competition I have and really work at it. In four years, I'll be a lot stronger and more mentally ready and be able to handle it."
Rodely is a different story.
A veteran of the 1992 trials shot put competition, he is hoping to overcome an elbow injury and unleash a performance than will land him a spot on the three-man American shot put team.
The elbow, which has a loose body in the joint, has kept him from working out or throwing for the past two weeks. He expects to have surgery on it after the trials.
"I believe if my elbow feels good on the day of competition, I'm going to surprise some people," he said.
It's difficult to count Rodely out after the road he's weathered to get to Sacramento.
"I've had my bout with injuries, no doubt about it," he said.
Considered one of the best high school discus throwers in the country coming out of high school in DuQuoin, Ill., in 1986, Rodely was a two-time American South Conference Champion in the shot put and discus for ASU and finished sixth in the discus at the 1991 NCAA Outdoor championship.
He qualified for the U.S. outdoor championship in the shot put and discus in 1994. Rodely returned in 1997 and competed in the U.S. championship in the discus after an ankle injury and a brief hiatus from competing,
Then came the back problems.
"My low back has been problematic from a muscular standpoint from throwing the discus," Rodely said. "Just for simple health reasons, it was difficult to train. I was seeing a doctor regularly. I was trying everything."
Nothing worked. Throwing the discus meant spending the next three or four days recovering from a sore back.
"I started thinking I was too old for this and to forget about it," he said. "That's not a good feeling for an athlete to have."
Rodely decided to go for it in the shot put when he discovered it didn't hurt his back. Then he talked Webster into staying in Jonesboro for a few weeks after the spring semester to continue training.
"I'm totally impressed with what Jenny has done," Rodely said. "I said early on this year I knew she was capable of throwing real far. I thought if she did everything she should do, she had a shot at qualifying for the Olympic Trials. I don't know if she believed me or not."
There was no doubt after Dia de Salto.

David Rodely at a glance
EVENT Shot put
AGE 32
RESIDENCE Jonesboro
WHEN HE'S COMPETING Friday, 6:45 p.m. Central.
HOW HE QUALIFIED Threw personal-best 63-8 1/2 June 14 at Dia de Salto, a meet at Arkansas State sponsored by Bell Athletics, to eclipse qualifying standard of 62-2 1/4.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 1997, competed in U.S. Championships in discus; 1994, competed in U.S. Championships in shot put and discus; 1992, Olympic Trials competitor, shot put; 1991, All-American discus thrower at Arkansas State; 1991, American South Conference Champion, shot put and discus; 1991, American South Conference Outstanding Performer; 1990, American South Conference Champion, shot put and discus; 1990, American South Conference Outstanding Performer.

Jenny Webster at a glance
EVENT Discus
AGE 19
RESIDENCE Hurst, Texas/Jonesboro (Arkansas State)
WHEN SHE'S COMPETING Sunday, 2:30 p.m. Central.
HOW SHE QUALIFIED Threw a school-record 175-9 June 14 at Dia de Salto, a meet at Arkansas State sponsored by Bell Athletics, to eclipse qualifying standard of 175-0.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 2000 Sun Belt Conference champion, 169-9; broken ASU discus record eight times; Texas high school record-holder, Class AAAAA, 153-6.

This article was published on Thursday, July 13, 2000

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