Giavonna Meeks, 17, is a senior at Northfield High School in Denver, who has announced she will matriculate to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn in the fall. At Vanderbilt she plans to study Human and Organizational Development/ Health and Human Services. She won the 2021 Colorado 4A state title in the Discus and recently won the Weight Throw at the Nike Indoor Nationals in New York. She recently threw 162-11 in the Discus to move up to #4 on the Colorado high school all-time list and her 47-3 mark from last in the Shot Put is the #5 performance in Colorado history. In our interview below with Meeks we learn more about her college decision, who she would most like to have dinner with, her favorite food, her favorite athlete, her go-to social media platform, her goals for the remainder of her senior year, and much more.
I got my start in track and field my freshman year of high school. I played volleyball, basketball, and soccer for most of my high school career but decided to drop soccer after I knew that track was something I wanted to pursue in college.
There are so many memorable highlights, but if I had to choose two I would say my first time competing at the state meet my freshman year in 2019 which was also the first year I started throwing. I remember being so excited to compete with some of the top throwers in the state and watching girls who were throwing farthing than me just like “wow”. I think this was the turning point for me because I knew that I wanted to train more and take throwing more seriously after I placed 6th in shot.
One of my other most memorable highlights was winning the Indoor Nike Nationals for weight throw this past March and placing second in shot put. Winning Nationals meant the world to me because just months prior during the outdoor season at the state meet my junior year, I dislocated my ankle while I was warming up for shot put. This was so gut wrenching because the Nike Outdoor Nationals was just three days after the state meet. I remember watching everyone compete on tv while I was icing my ankle thinking to myself “I’ve got to start training”, so I did! Thankfully there were no broken bones so I was able to recover relatively quick. This gave me more motivation for the indoor season.
Watching Valarie Allman train at the University of Texas two-weeks ahead of the Olympics. Talking to her and hearing her story was inspiring and surreal. The amazing hospitality and getting to know the athletes on official college visits.
History
Something unique about me is that my dad has been my strength coach for all of my sports!
My favorite workout would be running stadiums with my brother during the summer.
I love sushi
I listen to a little bit of everything really, but my favorite genres would probably be R&B and rap!
I use all of them but I am more active on Instagram recently - @giavonna.meeks
My role model is my father! I admire him endlessly for the amount of dedication he put into sports when he was my age not to mention his guidance in the weight room.
My favorite athlete is Maggie Ewen. She’s accomplished so much in college by not only competing in three events but being the best in all of those events.
My goals that I am working towards for the remainder of my high school career are to throw 170 ft in discus, 50 ft in shot, 190 ft in hammer, and to compete at nationals in all three events!
The connection I felt with the coaches was a big factor as to why I chose Vanderbilt. The vision they have for the program really convinced me that Vanderbilt is where I need to be. Coach Kovacs is such an amazing coach and what she’s done in the past to develop her throwers was a huge factor. Vanderbilt being one of the top schools in the nation was also a deciding factor as academics are really important to me and I see the smaller class sizes and smaller throws squad as an advantage that will help me reach my goals!
I considered and got to know many great coaches at so many schools during my recruiting journey. In the end I went on official visits at Texas, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Cal Berkeley and UCLA with Vanderbilt and Cal being my top 2. I also visited Florida, Colorado State and Princeton.
I plan to study Human and Organizational Development/ Health and Human Services on a Pre-Dental track.
In 5 years, I would love to be on a professional team training for the 2028 Olympics, and in 10 years finishing dental school and starting my career. (Unless I’m lucky enough to be training for 2032).
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