Cal Berkeley signee and Orland High graduate looks to add to Golden State Throwers championship legacy by capturing 17-18 division title in Oregon

By Cate Peters for DyeStat

Angela Schykerynec knows she only has a few seconds to execute to the best of her ability in the hammer throw ring. 

But two and a half hours was the amount of time it took Schykerynec, a recent graduate of Orland High in California, to drive to practice every day for the past three years.

Mike Curry, head coach and owner of the Golden State Throwers Club based in Northern California, attested that Schykerynec is “the most committed athlete I have ever run into.”

Schykerynec’s dedication to the sport has led her to become the No. 4 prep hammer thrower in the country this year with a season's best of 173-2 (52.79m).

The Cal Berkeley commit is the reigning Nike Indoor Nationals champion in the 20-pound weight throw, and now she aims to capture another national title Wednesday in the 17-18 division hammer throw final at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

WATCH LIVE WEBCAST JULY 25-30 OF USATF NATIONAL JUNIOR OLYMPIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

Schykerynec’s road to success has not always been easy, but her drive and focus never wavered, showing why she is a national champion. 

Curry has coached eight national champions. He knows what to look for in his athletes and has developed a national champion checklist.

Here are the elements Curry identifies as core to a high-profile athlete, and how Schykerynec has grown to embody each throughout her career. 

Are you an athlete? 

According to Curry, “Athlete means not just strong, not just fast, but you’ve got all the elements to make a good mix of strength and speed.” 

For Schykerynec, though she had been doing track since middle school, she didn’t start hammer throw until her sophomore year. At the end of her sophomore year, she began to see herself as a serious athlete. 

“Once I started hitting around the 150s that was kinda like, ‘Okay, now you really do have potential, and now it’s really time to focus.’” 

Schykerynec recognized within herself the possibility to take throwing to the next level, and she fully committed to living up to her athletic potential. 

“She is…focused,” Curry said. “She knows when to separate herself and focus on her throws.” 

When Schykerynec started to get serious about the hammer, she also picked up powerlifting. Inspired by the athletes she saw in the powerlifting gym, Schykerynec joined her sophomore year and used them to push her to become a better athlete.

“I wanted to start doing that, and I wanted to start getting strong.” Schykerynec said.

So she began working out with senior football players. 

“I was able to hang with them…and my weightlifting numbers increased significantly,” Schykerynec said.

Adding in the strength element to her training made Schykerynec a more balanced athlete, ready to take on any challenge thrown her way.

Are you intelligent? 

Curry said, “intelligence will actually require you to focus on what you’re doing in practice.”

Being aware of yourself in training is key to getting the most out of the session. 

“Junior year I had quite a few minor injuries,” Schykerynec said. “The main thing that I just did to overcome it is to…be patient.” 

Being smart about her training, Schykerynec knew that coming back too soon would only lead to exacerbating the injuries. She realized, “it’s okay to take some time off” in order to come back healthier and stronger. 

Schykerynec checks the box of intelligence not just in the ring, but also in the classroom. “All four years, I’ve tried to have the most rigorous (school) schedule that I can,” she said. 

“Being able to take all these really hard classes and then doing another sport on top of it and then going to the gym is very difficult,” Schykerynec said.

She also recognized that in order to go to an elite school, Schykerynec had to be able to balance it all. 

“It wasn't too hard for me to juggle just because I was very fortunate to have a good time schedule,” she said.

Her dedication to school and her sport resulted in her commitment to attend Cal to train under veteran coach Mohamad Saatara. 

Do you have a village? 

Curry reiterated the saying, “It takes a village to raise an athlete.”

In order to be a national champion, you need a support system. For Schykerynec, this support comes from her family, coaches and teammates. 

This winter, Northern California suffered a lot of flooding, and Schykerynec’s area was hit particularly hard.

“She actually got flooded in for a couple weeks during our practices and I had to coach her over video over the phone” Curry said. 

Schykerynec internalized the skills she learned in virtual training and went to the Simplot Games in February in Pocatello, Idaho, where she won and broke the California state record in the 20-pound weight throw with a mark of 61-8.50 (18.81m).

She kept her peak going into Nike Indoor Nationals in March at The Armory in New York, securing the national title in the 20-pound weight throw with a performance of 57-10 (17.62m), all while her coach mentored her virtually.

During that time, Schykerynec said that while being coached via phone was difficult, she had her dad and high school coach, Joe Schykerynec, to help her through the competition. 

In addition to her family and coaching support, Schykerynec found role models within her club to help push her. 

Schykerynec finished second her junior year in the 17-18 division at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships at Sacramento State behind her club teammate Katelyn Peterson, now a rising sophomore at Princeton University. 

“She has just been a really great role model and friend to me.” Schykerynec said. “(The) friendly little rivalry between each other helped push us.” 

Having a role model to look up to and a teammate to inspire her to be the best version of herself, Schykerynec is driven to improve, and with Peterson graduated, she hopes to carry the torch Wednesday at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships with another national title for the Golden State Throwers Club.