Ohio State junior thrower Adelaide Aquilla competes at the Big Ten Championship on Feb. 26. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Dept. of Athletics
Barely making the Ohio State track and field team as a freshman didn’t stop Adelaide Aquilla from becoming a collegiate national champion.
Aquilla, a junior from Rocky River, Ohio, won the shot put national championship at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where she set a personal and school record with a 18.12m winning throw.
Despite coming into the meet ranked sixth, Ohio State throwing coach Ashley Kovacs said she knew Aquilla had the ability to be a champion.
“We knew that she could do better than that,” Kovacs said. “It was a matter of having that kind of expectation and being able to be in a position to put her best throw forward when it counted.”
Specifically for the championships, Aquilla and Kovacs were working on perfecting her form.
“Throughout this year we’ve made really good strides in the weight room with my form and mentally,” Aquilla said. “So going into competition we were really focused on creating my throw and getting everything all put together.”.
On her first two throws, Aquilla got sector fouls but didn’t let that rattle her. Aquilla said she and Kovacs knew what she needed to do to get on the scoreboard.
“We knew the distance was there, and we knew that she was in good form, so we just had to make a few technical changes to her alignment in the ring to make sure she was staying in bounds,” Kovacs said.
After her third throw of 17.24m that got her on the scoreboard, she threw her record-breaking fourth throw, putting her into first place.
“It was really rewarding to see. All season I’ve had some far throws in training, and just a couple of far fouls, but to be able to put it all together at the national championship and set a school record and win, it has just been an amazing year,” Aquilla said.
Aquillia is only the second Buckeye to win a national championship in shot put, following Dan Taylor — who won the title in 2004.
She is the sixth Buckeye to win a women’s indoor national championship.
Kovacs, who said she wasn’t shocked by the winning throw because of her training, said controlling the controllables and taking care of herself off the field was ultimately how Aquilla was able to become a champion.
“All of the stuff she does off the track: how she handles the classroom, her time management, her sleeping, her eating and her social life. That to me is why she is a champion,” Kovacs said. “That is why she won this meet.”
Aquilla is also a two-time Big Ten indoor shot put champion, winning the title in both 2020 and 2021.
To become an NCAA and Big Ten champion, Aquilla said she had to overcome adversity. Coming into Ohio State as a freshman, Aquilla was on the cusp of the walk-on standards.
“If you would have told me when I was recruiting her when she was a 43-foot high school thrower that she would throw 59 feet and win the NCAA’s as a junior I would have looked at you a little bit crazy,” Kovacs said.
Kovacs said that Aquilla separated herself over quarantine.
Aquilla’s dad built her a rack and she borrowed some equipment to continue to train in her garage.
“Obviously it was not the best environment, working out and training by myself, but I would rather do something than just not be able to,” Aquilla said.
Kovacs said it was tough not being able to coach Aquilla in person, but they often talked over the phone.
“She’d tell me what she did and how her progress was going, and I’d try to encourage her to stay with it and use the time that she had to her advantage, and she really did,” Kovacs said.
As she has found success in her collegiate career, Aquilla said that track has become a bigger part of her life than when she was a freshman.
“It’s crazy to say, but when I came to the team my freshman year, I would’ve never expected myself being in the position I am in right now,” Aquilla said. “I was a completely different person.”
With her sights set even higher next year, Aquilla said she not only wants to win both the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships, but she wants to break the collegiate records for both.
Aquilla said she has noticed a lot of physical, mental and academic growth in herself since becoming an athlete at Ohio State.
“I feel as if I’ve grown my leadership skills through the sport and been able to help out so many different people and show that hard work really does pay off,” Aquilla said.
