Photo by: Red Box Pictures
Field Reports With Angel Nkwonta
March 02, 2018 | Track & Field
Angel Nkwonta has a couple unusual facts for a standout Husky thrower. One is that she came to Washington after attending Pullman High School, the heart of rival Washington State country. Another is that she was a state finalist … in the 100-meter dash. Nkwonta still made her way across the state to Seattle and shifted full time to the throws. Last season she took 10th in the shot put at the Pac-12 Championships and picked up the hammer for the first time. During this indoor season, Nkwonta made major progress in the weight throw, capping her season off with a fifth-place finish at the MPSF Championships with a new PR of 63-0 ¼, the second-best mark in school history. Nkwonta talked about her progress in the weight and the hammer and her pre-meet tunes.
GoHuskies.com: What was the MPSF meet like from your point of view? You got your new PR on your sixth and final attempt.
Angel Nkwonta: I definitely had a slow start. I think when I think about too many things I get really confused, so coach has been trying to get me to focus on one particular thing, so I think by the time we got to finals, and I had barely made it into finals, he was like 'okay just work your feet, concentrate on your feet and that's it,' and I guess when I did that it came together.
GH.com: You seemed to focus more on the weight indoors than the shot this season, so outdoors will it be more hammer than shot or more evenly split?
AN: It was more because I'm changing my technique (in the shot). Before I was doing "glide" and now I'm doing "rotational" so it's been kind of hard transitioning to that, but it's starting to get better, so hopefully my progress will increase so I can be competitive outdoor in shot as well as hammer.
GH.com: Are you excited to see how much progress you'll be able to make in the hammer this year compared to last year when it was so new?
AN: Definitely I'm really excited. Last year was a struggle for me mentally coming onto the team and doing an event I'd never done before. My mental game is definitely a lot better, coach has been helping me a lot with that. I definitely am going to do a lot better in the hammer than I did last year.
GH.com: What are the goals you're setting for yourself?
AN: Get some PRs for sure, place in the Pac-12s definitely, hopefully make it to Regionals.
GH.com: In high school you were a standout thrower but also a 100-meter sprinter. Did you practice both half the time or how did that work?
AN: Yeah, I did do half-and-half with running and throwing. I only threw shot put so I mostly did sprints, and I think sprinting does help a lot with throwing just for having that quick muscle movement, having those fast-twitch muscles engaged helps throwing a lot.
GH.com: Do you miss sprinting?
AN: I do, but I don't miss the practices (laughs). I miss the competition of sprinting.
GH.com: So if the team needed an emergency 4x1 carry would you raise your hand?
AN: (laughs) I haven't really been training for all that so I don't know if my sprinting game is still there.
GH.com: You go to high school in Pullman, so were you a big Cougar fan?
AN: Kind of, but I was born in Portland, then I lived in Vancouver, so I lived in Portland and Vancouver for longer than I lived in Pullman. But I mean everyone was a Coug so I just played along with it.
GH.com: Did you get a lot of flak from people when you committed to Washington?
AN: Yeah, all my friends were like, "Why? Why would you do that?"
GH.com: What do you love most about track and field?
AN: I like track because it's individual, it's all on you, how well you do correlates directly with how well you perform. Everything you put in turns into a product and I like that about it; not having to depend on other people for how I do. I also like the community that you build. People think that because it's an individual sport you don't have that sense of community, but I definitely disagree. I feel like it's a family here and I really like that. You make friends with all the people that you compete against too, which is nice.
GH.com: What made you decide to come to UW?
AN: First, I wanted to stay in-state. I visited here and the facilities were really nice. Everyone was really nice, the coach was really nice, I really like my coach, so I just felt like I would like it here.
GH.com: Do you know what you want to major in yet?
AN: I want to major in Medical Anthropology and Global Health. I want to work in health care. I feel like we have a lot of resources here, and a lot of knowledge that other places in the world could use, so I don't know exactly what I want to do yet, I just know that I want to be able to utilize the things we have here and transfer that to other parts of the world.
GH.com: When did you first pick up the shot?
AN: I started throwing shot put in seventh grade. I just did it for fun. I started running before that, like in the fourth grade, so I just did shot put because I needed more events. I was just really strong so that helped.
GH.com: What's the biggest challenge you've faced to get to this point?
AN: I think the mental part is definitely my biggest challenge. For me it's like mentally being able to say okay this is just a meet, don't try and do anything you haven't done for practice. Also in practice I just have to be present when it's time for me to throw, I have to be able to remember what I did before, and that's been hard for me but it's getting better.
GH.com: If you could be great at any other track event what would it be?
AN: Definitely the hundred.
GH.com: What's the best class you've taken at UW so far?
AN: Biological Diversity
GH.com: What's your proudest academic moment so far?
AN: I would say when I retook Chem 142 I did way better than I did the first time, like a whole 1.5 GPA better.
GH.com: What movie have you watched more than any other?
AN: The Matrix
GH.com: What's the latest TV show you're into?
AN: Blackish
GH.com: What's your favorite place to eat around campus?
AN: I like IHOP a lot.
GH.com: What's the hardest workout Coach Schutz has you do?
AN: Stadium stairs at the beginning of the year.
GH.com: Any pre-meet rituals or superstitions?
AN: Before the meet I always listen to 21 Savage. I don't listen to him a lot when I'm not throwing but before I throw I listen to him a lot.
GH.com: Dream vacation spot?
AN: I want to go to Cabo
GH.com: What's your go-to caffeinated beverage?
AN: White chocolate mocha
GH.com: What's your favorite animal?
AN: A puma or a monkey.
GoHuskies.com: What was the MPSF meet like from your point of view? You got your new PR on your sixth and final attempt.
Angel Nkwonta: I definitely had a slow start. I think when I think about too many things I get really confused, so coach has been trying to get me to focus on one particular thing, so I think by the time we got to finals, and I had barely made it into finals, he was like 'okay just work your feet, concentrate on your feet and that's it,' and I guess when I did that it came together.
GH.com: You seemed to focus more on the weight indoors than the shot this season, so outdoors will it be more hammer than shot or more evenly split?
AN: It was more because I'm changing my technique (in the shot). Before I was doing "glide" and now I'm doing "rotational" so it's been kind of hard transitioning to that, but it's starting to get better, so hopefully my progress will increase so I can be competitive outdoor in shot as well as hammer.
GH.com: Are you excited to see how much progress you'll be able to make in the hammer this year compared to last year when it was so new?
AN: Definitely I'm really excited. Last year was a struggle for me mentally coming onto the team and doing an event I'd never done before. My mental game is definitely a lot better, coach has been helping me a lot with that. I definitely am going to do a lot better in the hammer than I did last year.
GH.com: What are the goals you're setting for yourself?
AN: Get some PRs for sure, place in the Pac-12s definitely, hopefully make it to Regionals.
GH.com: In high school you were a standout thrower but also a 100-meter sprinter. Did you practice both half the time or how did that work?
AN: Yeah, I did do half-and-half with running and throwing. I only threw shot put so I mostly did sprints, and I think sprinting does help a lot with throwing just for having that quick muscle movement, having those fast-twitch muscles engaged helps throwing a lot.
GH.com: Do you miss sprinting?
AN: I do, but I don't miss the practices (laughs). I miss the competition of sprinting.
GH.com: So if the team needed an emergency 4x1 carry would you raise your hand?
AN: (laughs) I haven't really been training for all that so I don't know if my sprinting game is still there.
GH.com: You go to high school in Pullman, so were you a big Cougar fan?
AN: Kind of, but I was born in Portland, then I lived in Vancouver, so I lived in Portland and Vancouver for longer than I lived in Pullman. But I mean everyone was a Coug so I just played along with it.
GH.com: Did you get a lot of flak from people when you committed to Washington?
AN: Yeah, all my friends were like, "Why? Why would you do that?"
GH.com: What do you love most about track and field?
AN: I like track because it's individual, it's all on you, how well you do correlates directly with how well you perform. Everything you put in turns into a product and I like that about it; not having to depend on other people for how I do. I also like the community that you build. People think that because it's an individual sport you don't have that sense of community, but I definitely disagree. I feel like it's a family here and I really like that. You make friends with all the people that you compete against too, which is nice.
GH.com: What made you decide to come to UW?
AN: First, I wanted to stay in-state. I visited here and the facilities were really nice. Everyone was really nice, the coach was really nice, I really like my coach, so I just felt like I would like it here.
GH.com: Do you know what you want to major in yet?
AN: I want to major in Medical Anthropology and Global Health. I want to work in health care. I feel like we have a lot of resources here, and a lot of knowledge that other places in the world could use, so I don't know exactly what I want to do yet, I just know that I want to be able to utilize the things we have here and transfer that to other parts of the world.
GH.com: When did you first pick up the shot?
AN: I started throwing shot put in seventh grade. I just did it for fun. I started running before that, like in the fourth grade, so I just did shot put because I needed more events. I was just really strong so that helped.
GH.com: What's the biggest challenge you've faced to get to this point?
AN: I think the mental part is definitely my biggest challenge. For me it's like mentally being able to say okay this is just a meet, don't try and do anything you haven't done for practice. Also in practice I just have to be present when it's time for me to throw, I have to be able to remember what I did before, and that's been hard for me but it's getting better.
GH.com: If you could be great at any other track event what would it be?
AN: Definitely the hundred.
GH.com: What's the best class you've taken at UW so far?
AN: Biological Diversity
GH.com: What's your proudest academic moment so far?
AN: I would say when I retook Chem 142 I did way better than I did the first time, like a whole 1.5 GPA better.
GH.com: What movie have you watched more than any other?
AN: The Matrix
GH.com: What's the latest TV show you're into?
AN: Blackish
GH.com: What's your favorite place to eat around campus?
AN: I like IHOP a lot.
GH.com: What's the hardest workout Coach Schutz has you do?
AN: Stadium stairs at the beginning of the year.
GH.com: Any pre-meet rituals or superstitions?
AN: Before the meet I always listen to 21 Savage. I don't listen to him a lot when I'm not throwing but before I throw I listen to him a lot.
GH.com: Dream vacation spot?
AN: I want to go to Cabo
GH.com: What's your go-to caffeinated beverage?
AN: White chocolate mocha
GH.com: What's your favorite animal?
AN: A puma or a monkey.
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