Chalmette has a district track and field champion whose main sport is softball

Chalmette senior Aniya Harris played the final softball game of her high school career Tuesday.

On Wednesday, she became a district track and field champion. Harris, a Southeastern Louisiana committed catcher with 53 career home runs in four varsity seasons, won the district shot put title for a third year in a row when she reached 36 feet, 2¼ inches on the best of her six attempts.

She will compete at a Class 5A regional next week at Hahnville with a chance to get back to the state meet for the third time. She placed fifth at state last year.

“My hope is to at least be in the top three,” Harris said.

Harris was among several Chalmette athletes to earn top-four district placements that automatically advanced them to the regional, helping the Owls finish first in the girls team standings as the boys finished second to John Ehret in the 8-5A meet held at Chalmette.

Harris, a lifelong softball player, became a two-sport athlete at the end of her sophomore softball season when track assistant Dorian Hall asked her to give the shot put a try.

“I watched her play softball and when I saw her hit a bomb, I was like, ‘Yeah,’ ” said Hall, a former discus thrower at East Jefferson who played college football at McNeese State. “One thing about shot put, it’s about power. If you’ve got power, you’re going to be good at this. Technique helps. But sometimes power trumps technique.”

Hall asked her to try the sport because “he knew it was something I could do,” Harris said. “He basically taught me everything I need to know about it. That’s why I am where I am today.”

Harris won district her first time out.

“With any kid, when you see results, you get excited,” Hall said. “She came out and threw, kind of like this year, one week after softball ended, she won first. No idea what she was doing. Just grabbed it and threw.”

Harris hoists the 8.8-pound shot by using the same footwork she does when throwing a 7-ounce softball to second base by shuffling her feet forward before releasing her throw. The main difference is the positioning of her right arm.

“I keep the softball out here,” she said with her arm in the shape of an L. “With the shot put, it’s touching your neck.”

Harris will refine her throwing technique during the week leading into the regional meet with a focus on pulling her front arm through to create more torque on her throws. She also will learn to keep a low center of gravity.

“When she throws, she’s standing straight up,” said Hall, who expects Harris to make an improvement of 6 or 8 inches between meets.

Harris would like to ultimately reach 40 feet, a near three-foot improvement from the 37-3 she threw last year at state. State champion Jaydan Jackson from Zachary graduated after she threw 44-1½ last year.

“She’s a competitor,” Hall said. “When she sees people doing better than her, that challenges her right there. She wants to be the best at everything. You can’t teach it when people want to compete like that.”

Regardless of the result, Harris will value the experience.

“I didn’t know I could do this,” Harris said about what she remembered about her first meet. “I thought I was just coming out here to help my team and have fun. It’s something I like to do, and I enjoy it.”