marykiscoan

One may notice the ever-so-bubbly senior Katelyn Gochenour bouncing around Marian’s halls, brightening everyone’s day with a smile. Little do many students know, soon after all her classes are complete, her rigorous training at home begins.

Through a combination of lifting, sprinting, long-distance running, jumping/bounding, medicine ball throwing, and swimming, Gochenour trains to compete at the Olympic level for javelin throwing every day, 365 days a year.

Though javelin is illegal to practice in Nebraska due to NSAA prohibitions, Gochenour is able to perform in Iowa. However, when asked what her favorite performance of her career has been so far, Gochenour reminisced about her experience competing at the World Youth Games in Cuba during the summer of 2015 where she got 16th place.

“When I stepped into the stadium, it was packed and everyone was screaming and taking pictures. At that moment, I realized that I wasn’t just competing by myself, but for my country. Having USA on my jersey was the best feeling in the world.”

Gochenour plans to throw javelin at Oklahoma University. She hopes to make the USA Olympic team by her graduating year of college, but if that is not the case, Gochenour will train until her dream becomes reality. Watch out for this soon-to-be Sooner as she works to defeat any obstacle in her way of attaining her goals.