GBI Magazine

o ly m p i c s p o r t s f e a t u r e : C h u k w u e b u k a Eye comes out The to contribute On of nowhere Prize Enekwechi BY BRANDAN ALFORD BrandanAlford@Gmail.com F ive years ago, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi had never competed in a field event. Until the track coach at Francis Lewis High School in New York walked into his sophomore physical education class and asked him if he would like to try the shot put, it wasn't even something he had considered. Enekwechi decided to try it out. If nothing else, it was a chance to get E n e k w e c h i into shape and improve his physical appearance, even if field events aren't as tailor-made for such endeavors as any track event. What began as an excuse to workout quickly turned into Enekwechi's self-described obsession. Several months later, Enekwechi was competing in his first high school competition for Francis Lewis. His first competitive shot put measured about 37 feet. From that point, his goal was to reach 40 feet. But the sport and competition Nunn's mark among nation's best Nikki Nunn has had a strong outdoor season this spring, evidenced by her national standing in the long jump. Nunn's jump of 6.32 meters at the SEC/ B1G Challenge is the seventh-best jump in the nation Tom Campbell and third-best in Junior Nikki Nunn is working her way to an elite class Purdue history. of long jumpers. The Chesterfield, Va., native has the Other Boilers third-best long jump in Purdue history. with top-25 marks currently include jumper Geoff Davis and the throwing trio of Jakob Engel, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi and Coy Blair. Davis' high jump at the Sea Ray Relays is the fourth-best in the country. Meanwhile, Kengel has the 15th-best throw in the shot put, Enekwechi ranks 13th in the hammer thow and Blair is 21st in the shot put. Freshman Vanessa McLeod already is making her mark in the record books. Having previously set the indoor school record in the 800 meters, McLeod recently added the outdoor record with a time of 2:06.36. — Brandan Alford Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 5com piqued his interest. Researching the event and all the best throwers and their distances, he found that there were competitors in the 60-70 foot range. "I started looking online for any information on the sport that I could find," Enekwechi said. "I became obsessed on becoming the best thrower I could; I wanted to develop the perfect form." Three years later, Enekwechi earned three consecutive high school varsity letters and became the USATF Youth national champion in the shot put and ranked first in the United States in the weight throw. What had started as a casual interest turned into scholarship offers and national championship potential. And, ultimately, led to Purdue. As a true freshman a year ago for the Boilermakers, Enekwechi

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