Track & Field Q&A: Samantha Zelden
4/26/2017 4:10:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
RollTide.com will be posting Q&As with members of the Alabama track & field teams throughout the season so fans can get to know the student-athletes competing for the Crimson Tide. This week, we visit with freshman javelin thrower Samantha Zelden. The Folsom, La., native was one of the top junior javelin throwers in the nation during her high school career and has already recorded six throws this season that rank in the top-10 all-time at Alabama.
With javelin being such a unique event, how did you even begin taking an interest?
SZ: When I was in fifth grade, I had a friend I was really close with, she was an older sister figure for me. I played all the sports that she did. When she got a little older and was in high school, she began throwing the javelin. I thought that it was so cool, and I wanted to be just like her. The first time I picked a javelin up, it was just easier to me and it came natural. I passed her up my first year throwing. So that's really how I got into javelin. My dad was a thrower and threw for a little bit, but was more into shot put and discus.
I'm from Louisiana, which is one of the few states where javelin is a high school track & field event. Louisiana is one of about 7-10 states that allows the use of a real metal-tipped javelin. There are a few more that allow a special javelin that has a rubber tip.
How did you narrow it down to throwing the javelin in college, compared to the other sports you played in high school?
SZ: It was skill. It came down to javelin and softball. I could have gone to college for either one and I was recruited for both. But it really came down to the fact that when I was looking at colleges, softball was not an Olympic sport and track and field was, and I had a plan. My dad and I made a plan when I was in eighth grade that if I advanced 10 feet a year from my freshmen year in high school to my senior year in college I would make the Olympic A standard, which means I would technically qualify for the Olympics. My dream has always been to go to the Olympics and compete for the United States. So, I chose track because of that possible opportunity.
When you saw your potential, is that when you realized this is where your heart is at?
SZ: Yes, it is something that I just genuinely enjoy. I played a lot of sports, but this is one of the ones that completely and solely relied on me, and it was only me. When I got out there, it was just me and the javelin, basically just throwing this stick as far as I could. That's all I had to do.
Why did you choose to attend Alabama?
SZ: Being from Louisiana, I knew I wanted to stay in the South and when I got here, it just had that southern, homey feel. The campus is absolutely gorgeous. When I was on my visit here, the team was so welcoming. My visit wasn't super extravagant, we had a bonfire after the football game where we got pizza and watched other football games. I'm not a huge partier, I'm more of the simple hang out type, so that was exactly what I was looking for, it just clicked.
Did you know anything about Alabama before you came here?
 SZ: I'm from Louisiana so I was born and raised an LSU fan. I've always had respect for Alabama and respect for my home team, LSU. I actually never wanted to go to LSU, I always wanted to get out of Louisiana. I had always wanted to get out of state and spread my wings. I didn't want to go too far but I definitely wanted to go out of state and become my own person.
Was your adjustment from high school to college difficult, and how has it been so far?
SZ: The first month was hard for me because not a lot of people from my high school came to Alabama. I went to a very small high school, so I was basically starting over. I started from the ground up. I had my roommates to start with, but in the beginning you really don't know them and they don't really know you. So, you're trying to figure them out, you're trying to figure what friends you're going to make, that sort of thing. It was definitely a big transition considering I went to a school where I graduated with 122 people, all girls, to my first class here being a 400-person lecture hall all which is about how many people are in my entire high school.
While adjusting to a new setting is clearly a challenge, how has being on the team has helped you?
SZ: It has helped me tremendously. Some of my best friends are on the track team, even though I do have other friends outside of the team. Most of my friends are other student-athletes because our lives are so structured. When you meet people that live by the similar codes and standards, it's easy to make friends.
What are your top three things you enjoy about the team?
SZ: The family atmosphere, the work ethic and just the fun!
What are your top three goals as an athlete?
SZ: I would like to go the NCAA Championships each of my four years of eligibility and possibly place in the top five. I would ultimately like to go to the Olympics, but if not, I would still like to be considered one of the more elite athletes. I would also like to be an Academic All-American. I want to keep my grades to that level. I am an exercise science major, pre-professional, because I would like to go to physical therapy school.
Coming to Alabama, did you ever imagine you would break into the school top-10 in the javelin so quickly?
SZ: I actually didn't image that because when I was here, in the track and field offices they have all the records on the boards. The javelin record for women is extremely high and I never thought that I would be able to get there as soon as I have. Reading that I have already accomplished so many of those goals, which is kind of cool because I never thought that would happen this fast. But also, it's that one sitting at the top that I would like the reach, but it's still so far. I have so much more time here to get there though, and that's the cool part.
Talk about your very first college meet at the Bulldog Relays.
SZ: That was my very first college meet and it was actually kind of bittersweet because that was my second school, if I didn't come to Alabama, I would have gone to Mississippi State. My boyfriend is on the football team there. So, with him being there it was kind of cool to have a support system. It was my very first college meet so I was super nervous but luckily it was a pretty relaxed meet. It was a chance to get a feel for what the competition is going to be like and how it's going to work. On top of my boyfriend's support, my mom and brother were there, as well as my boyfriend's family. It was so neat to have that network of family there for my first meet because it was so nerve-wracking.
I was actually super excited about my performance at the meet, too. Up until that point I hadn't thrown in a meet in just about a year because I had surgery on my elbow right out of high school.Â
Knowing everything you know now, if you could time travel and give your high school self some advice, what would it be?
SZ: As an athlete, I would probably go back and tell myself to train. Because I did four sports, I never did any sort of weight training or anything extra than practice. I just had the season training for that specific sport. I would have used my outside time to just prepare, because when I came here I actually did injure myself trying to train.
And then as a student and person, I would try to tell myself to be more outgoing. I have grown more outgoing because of one of my friends that I have made, she is probably the most outgoing person ever. She has helped me with my personality. In high school, I kept to myself. I had maybe one best friend and I would hang out with her when I could because of my busy schedule. I was always just a little quieter, so I would probably go back and just tell myself to be more outgoing. Everyone is in the same situation as you are, they all just moved to college and going through the same transition, so go out and talk to that person sitting right next to you because you might have more in common than you know.
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