Saunders gets the jump on competitors

It had been a while since the track and field world had heard from Sha’Keela Saunders, but she has made her presence known in the latter part of her redshirt freshman year at the University of Kentucky.

The former Nansemond River High School state champion standout recently became the national silver medalist in the long jump at the 2014 NCAA outdoor track and field championships in Eugene, Ore.

“I felt great about it,” Saunders said. “It was a shock. I expected to make finals, but I didn’t expect to place that high, so I exceeded my expectations, and it was awesome.”

She took second by producing a 21-foot-1.25-inch leap, tying the school record that she set two weeks prior to become the East Region champion.

“I thought she had a chance to win,” Kentucky coach Edrick Floréal said of Saunders’ performance at nationals. “I think that she had a rocky start to her collegiate career, but mostly because she hadn’t competed for a year.”

Saunders redshirted her freshman year, because she had knee surgery after arriving at Kentucky.

After she was healthy again, she had to step up to the regimen expected of an NCAA Division I track and field athlete.

“Training is a lot different,” she said, noting how her days now start at 6 a.m. with weight training.

Also, the competition is always tough. She said in high school, some track meets were a piece of cake to win.

“In college, we don’t experience pieces of cake,” she said with a laugh.

Floréal said he always thought she had a chance to be really successful, but she needed to find her identity. He noted that she started to locate it during a meet in Austin, Texas, on May 3, when she set a personal record of 20 feet, 11.25 inches.

In the last couple of months, she began to get the crowd involved in her jumps, asking them to clap as she ran and jumped.

“Once she kind of got comfortable being who she is, which is kind of a kid at heart, then things got better,” Floréal said.

For the 2014-15 season, Floréal said, “I think she’s going to be one of the better jumpers in the U.S.”

He said he’s coached some really good jumpers, “but none naturally as fast as she is.”

Nansemond River coach Justin Byron was pleased to see her growing.

“Sha’Keela Saunders is a special athlete,” he stated in a text message. “She changed the landscape of high school track and Nansemond River, and it looks like she’s doing the same thing on the NCAA and at Kentucky.”

He stated he looks forward to seeing her continue to improve at the college level and beyond.

Saunders said a big goal is to be a part of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil, “but until then, I’m just trying to place higher each year.”