Steve Huntzinger--Shot Putter

Steve won the Shot Put becoming the US#1 with a throw of 63-7.

Steve Huntzinger

Steve is a senior at James W. Robinson Jr. Secondary School in Northern Virginia. Steve absolutely loves throwing. It was something he decided he wanted to do in sixth grade. Steve was inspired by Nick Welihozkiy, now a senior at Stanford University, who was an elite thrower at West Springfield High School in Northern Virginia when Steve was in middle school. Steve watched Nick throw and told his Dad “this is what I want to do.” So Steve started throwing in eighth grade and has been at it ever since. The key to his success and advice he gives to others is: repetitions. He says, “Repetitions is the key. You need to get

Steve with Coach Zack Scott

through the boring times…repetition after repetition…thousands of them until it is second nature.” In addition you need to master finding the focal point early so that you can do the repetitions. Steve trains year around with no time off to speak of. His workouts might not be as hard during the off-season but training off-season avoids “wasting time to catch up.”

Steve has already signed with William and Mary University in Virginia for next year. He will be majoring in Finance where he will be building on the financial skills he has been developing since he started his lawn service business in sixth grade. While cutting lawns, Steve saw the advantages of creating his own business and watching it grow. Encouraged by his parents, particularly his Mother, Judy an accountant,

Steve with Mom, Judy

Steve was introduced to a stock broker through whom he bought stocks. He quickly learned the value of investing and now has a nice portfolio for a high school student. He is a good student and has done very well in his business classes, many of them Advanced Placement level classes. Currently, he is Branch Manager of the Apple Federal Credit Union at James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School. "Apple Federal Credit Union and Robinson Secondary School have established a partnership by opening a student run Apple branch in the school, which gives every student the opportunity to learn about money management skills. Through this educational partnership, students and parents can join Apple FCU and [get] all our great benefits to use. Students in the Accounting class run the Ram Branch of Apple FCU.”

His goal for track and field this year is to win a national championship in shot put. Steve has a very positive attitude that shows when he talks, especially about throwing and finance. We’ll look for him at the national meets this season.

Tiandra Ponteen

Tiandra won the 300 with a 37.85, becoming US#3 all time. She also led the Eleanor Roosevelt 4x400 relay team to a win.

Tiandra was born on St. Kitts, one of two islands in the tiny island nation of St. Kitts-Nevis in the Caribbean. She started running when she was about 7 years old but didn’t get serious until the 11-12 year age bracket. She arrived in New York City from St. Kitts where she attended middle school and started high school at Washington Irving High School. She later transferred to Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland where she is now a senior.

Tiandra says she runs every race to the “best of my ability.” She works very hard at training and uses the results of her races to motivate herself. If she loses or doesn’t perform as she wants or thinks she can, she becomes angry with herself, becomes quiet, turning her anger inward while focusing on her goals and working harder. Winning today at such a high level “makes me very, very happy.” To Tiandra it helps to overcome the disappointment at her loss earlier in the season in New York to Natasha Hastings in the 400m.

While Tiandra trains hard, she does no weight training, in accordance with coach Larry Colbert's methods. This shocked many coaches she interviewed on her college visits. They assured her that she would be doing weight training at the college level. She is excited about the next level, though she knows it could be difficult to make changes to her routine. She has signed with the University of Florida. (Incidentally, Reggie Witherspoon who also became US#3 in the 300 this week, will also be attending the University of Florida.)

Goals for the future for Tiandra include “being on the Olympic team for my country.” If that happens, Tiandra will be joining countryman, Kim Collins who was a 2000 Olympian (7th in the men's 100).

About St. Kitts-Nevis

St. Kitts-Nevis is a federation of two islands forming an independent country located in the northern half of the Eastern Caribbean about 1,300 miles southeast of Miami, Florida and 250 miles southeast of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. As the slogan says, it’s “Two Islands One Paradise.” St. Kitts is 23 miles long and five miles across at its widest and has an area of 68 square miles. The highest elevation is 3,792 at the top of Mt. Liamuiga. Nevis, is to the south of St. Kitts and is about 7 miles in diameter and an area of 36 square miles. The climate is tropical with an average yearly temperature of 79 degrees with low humidity. The total population is about 45,000 with 36,000 on St. Kitts and Nevis 9,000.

St. Kitts gets its name from Christopher Columbus who came upon the island in 1493 during his second voyage to the Americas. There is some controversy about whether it was named for himself or St. Christopher. At any rate, the island is commonly referred to as St. Kitts and the inhabitants call themselves Kittians.

The early history of the country and for more than three-quarters of a century was dominated and shared by both the British and the French. The lure of the island was its agricultural production particularly sugar. In 1983 the two island federation gained its independence as a two-island nation within the British Commonwealth