LEWISTON – For all of her accomplishments, records and championships, the meet Liz Wanless remembers most is the one where she didn’t win.

The Bates College senior shakes her head as she recalled her second-place finish in the shot put at last winter’s NCAA Division III indoor track and field national championships. On one throw, Wanless actually fired the four-kilo sphere farther than the eventual winner, but her foot stepped beyond the circle for a foul, negating the effort.

“I learned a lot from that indoor meet, probably more than the meets that I’ve won,” Wanless said. “I’m grateful for it, but also bitter about it, which is important.”

With that experience still fresh in her mind, Wanless returns to the national championships this weekend focused on finishing her indoor collegiate career with a national gold medal. Wanless enters the meet as the nation’s No. 1 seed in the shot put.

Along with sophomore Kelly Godsey, the Bobcats boast one of the most potent 1-2 tandems of female throwers in Division III. Godsey is ranked second in the country in the 20-pound weight throw and sixth in the shot. Wanless is seeded sixth in the weight toss.

The meet will be held this weekend at Wisconsin-Whitewater.

According to Bates women’s coach Carolyn Court, the duo has waged a healthy rivalry that has inspired each thrower to reach unprecedented distances. Wanless broke her own school record in the shot by more than a foot with a toss of 51 feet, 11 inches. In her second year of throwing the 20-pound weight, Godsey smashed the Bates record by more than seven feet with a throw of 59-11.

“It has gone way beyond what I expected,” said Godsey. “I did not expect to do what I have accomplished this year.

Both athletes are quick to credit their throwing coaches. Joe Woodhead has helped developed 23 All-Americans during his tenure at Bates. Jane Jawor, a former Lewiston High standout and an All-American thrower at Tennessee, and her husband Ed Jawor have provided steady support in the shot. Wanless credits them for helping her make the huge leap from 44 feet to 50 feet in one year.

Godsey, who focused on soccer and basketball in Colorado, only ran track during her sophomore year where she mostly coached herself. She had no plans to join the Bates track team until Woodhead sold her on the idea.

“My roommate my freshman year knew coach Woodhead very well and actually talked to him about me,” said Godsey. “He actually contacted me. I think the funniest thing was that I was recruited to play basketball and he said I wouldn’t be an All-American in basketball, but I could be one in the weight throw. It was like he was telling me I would not be a good basketball player.

“At first I was like, ‘Wow. this guy, he doesn’t hold back.’ And I kind of liked that. I really liked that, actually.”

She was not a quick learner. Godsey described her first three months attempting to learn the technique of the spin as throwing with “two left feet.” Things began falling into place last spring with the hammer. Nearly proving Woodhead’s prediction right in her first year, Godsey competed in the outdoor nationals in both the hammer and shot put.

A soccer player throughout her childhood, Wanless switched to track as a high school sophomore. By her senior year, Wanless placed seventh in the shot at the Illinois state championships. Also a stellar volleyball player, Wanless wanted the chance to play both in college. While several schools recruited her for one or the other, Bates was one of the only schools that offered her a chance to do both.

Wanless, however, quit track during her freshman season.

“I was just kind of hanging out, doing the non-sport thing,” said Wanless. “But that wasn’t for me. I missed the daily grind, the routine and discipline.”

She returned for her sophomore season and qualified for nationals. She also went to nationals in both indoor and outdoor track as a junior. All of her big meet experience doesn’t make this year’s trip any easier.

“There is certainly more pressure,” she said. “The Bates campus is small. People find out about your accolades and awards. It’s really important once we leave campus that we block that all out. I want to relax and enjoy my hard work.”

In the past year, Wanless has won several championships, including the ECAC and All New England Open, and has set a number of championship meet records.

She also tested her skills against the best throwers in the country, finishing sixth at the USA indoor nationals. That experience has further inspired her. In fact, the qualifying distance for the Olympic Trials is well within her reach.

“I’ve thrown it and fouled,” said Wanless. “So I’m pretty darn close. My mouth is certainly watering with desire when you know you can do it and you’re just a centimeter away.”

ssherlock@sunjournal.com

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