Tennessee High’s Jennifer Cannon Earns All-American Status With Heptathlon Runner-Up Finish at New Balance Nationals
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by Steve Wilmoth
TriCitiesSports.com
June 15, 2012
Add All-American to the many descriptions of the amazing Jennifer Cannon who officially closed out her Tennessee High career with a runner-up finish in the heptathlon at the New Balance Nationals at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.
“It definitely feels good,” said Cannon in a phone interview Friday afternoon. “I wanted it and really worked hard to get it. Now that I did I’m really pleased.”
Competing at the national level in any event certainly presents its challenges. But for Cannon, competing in her first-ever heptathlon required the addition of two first-time events. Competing under TSSAA guidelines in Tennessee, Cannon finished as state runner-up in the pentathlon in 2011 and won the state title just last month in Murfreesboro. The five event discipline covers the 100 meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put and 800 meter run.
“I’d been training all year for the pentathlon and had really improved my field events,” noted Cannon. “I’m hoping to compete in the heptathlon at Vanderbilt so I wanted to start training for and compete in that.”
Adding the 200 meter dash to her skill set went smoothly for Cannon to close out day one on Thursday.
“I loved the 200 meters,” said Cannon whose first ever race at the distance produced a 25.03 and her tenth Tennessee High school record and inched her to within 61 points of day one leader Aaron Howell of Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Day two started with the long jump where Cannon produced a field-best leap of 17-10¼ to pull within 41 points of Howell. But Howell and a number of other competitors in the field possessed a distinct advantage moving to event six – the javelin.
Two weeks ago, Cannon had never held a javelin, much less thrown one at such an elite level.
“It was really weird and awkward at first,” said Cannon. “I definitely need more training there and look forward to more coaching in the event.”
Cannon’s best throw went 74-6, but was well behind Howell’s 118-8, who padded her lead an additional 255 points to what amounted to an insurmountable advantage heading to the final event. The order of competitors was also a disadvantage for Cannon who threw not only behind Howell, but also Noel Jancewicz of Hamilton Square, New Jersey, and Shania Burns of Prior Lake, Minnesota, other javelin states.
“I had to throw behind some of the best javelin people there and my first throw was not good at all,” Cannon explained. “My coaches did a good job of calming me down and we got a decent number out of it.”
Cannon finished ahead of both Howell and Jancewicz and just behind Burns in the 800 meters with a 2:25.30 to round out her national runner-up finish and All-American status. Cannon finished with 4801 points to Howell’s 5071. Burns tallied 4706 for third to Jancewicz’s 4667.
Cannon’s remarkable career finished with five state championships, two state runner-ups and those ten school records. Additionally, she led the Lady Vikings to third-place and second-place finishes in the state track and field meets in 2011 and 2012.
“It’s surreal that it’s over, that I’ve worn the Tennessee High uniform for the last time,” added Cannon. “I’ve had the best coaches who have helped me so much and the support from the fans has been overwhelming. I’m definitely looking forward and excited about the next chapter at Vanderbilt and the SEC.”
Cannon will have a little down time this summer before reporting to Nashville to start working with the Lady Commodores on August 18.
Click Here for the Complete Event Results
The running of the New Balance High School Track and Field Outdoor National Championships is in its 22nd year and is expected to draw over 3300 entries. The meet is presented by the National Scholastic Sports Foundation and moved from North Carolina State University in Raleigh to North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro in 2005.
North Carolina A&T University - Greensboro, NC
June 14-15, 2012
Photos submitted to TriCitiesSports.com