IU graduate Kyla Buckley has been competing at the USA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif. for the past week.
It was the final time Buckley competed in shot put wearing the IU logo.
And it was there Buckley accomplished something she failed to do during her senior season at IU; she set a personal record.
“I hadn’t PR-ed all season so it just felt really good to have a PR there,” Buckley said. “It was definitely exciting. Coach was excited, even the other girls out there were excited, so it was pretty fun.”
Buckley’s throw of 17.45 meters won fifth place in the preliminaries, comfortably qualifying her for the finals later that day.
After the prelims the throw order was reordered at random. The new order had Buckley as the first competitor to throw.
Buckley described the atmosphere at the finals as intimate and personal, and said it felt as if the fans were right on top of her as she was throwing.
“It wasn’t really scary, I would say,” Buckley said. “I think it was more like nervous excitement. I was definitely really nervy.”
Buckley’s first two throws in the finals were both faults, leaving her one more opportunity to leave her mark on the field.
That final throw traveled 16.08 meters, but more importantly, both her feet remained inside the throwing ring. She finished 11th in her first USA Outdoor Championships.
While the venue and the competition was a new experience for Buckley, the athletes she was competing against were familiar.
“A lot of them I’ve competed against before at Olympic Trials or back when they were in college,” Buckley said. “I had competed against everyone that was there before.”
While her career as a Hoosier has ended, she said she still hopes to continue her professional career.
“I’m going to take some time off and evaluate everything that has happened,” Buckley said. “I’ll probably start training again to try and make it to USA Indoors.”
