Thursday, June 6, 1996
Althouse is best female shot putter in collegiate historyBy
Scott Yamaguchi
Daily Bruin Staff
To her friends and teammates, she is known as ‘V,’ which is
short for Valeyta, but might well stand for victory.
Valeyta Althouse is, undoubtedly, the greatest female shot
putter ever to walk the infield of UCLA’s Drake Stadium. And, with
her collegiate eligibility now expired, she has left an indelible
mark in the school’s  and the NCAA’s  record books.
Last year, with a lifetime-best throw of 61-feet, 10 1/4 inches
at the Pacific 10 Conference Championships, Althouse broke the
school, conference and American collegiate records.
She has won three Pacific-10 individual shot put titles at UCLA,
was crowned the NCAA outdoor champion last season, and this year,
won an NCAA indoor title, setting the indoor collegiate record
along the way.
Rarely has Althouse encountered defeat, and she will try once
again to avoid it next week when she competes in the United States
Olympic Trials in Atlanta. At stake is a berth in this summer’s
Olympic games.
But as she prepares for the most important meet of her season,
you’ll have to excuse the slight chip on her shoulder. You see,
just last week, the usually mild-mannered Althouse was unable to
avoid defeat, and now, she is slightly angry.
The worst part of it all, and the reason for her anger, is that
this defeat came in the second-most important meet of Althouse’s
senior season, the NCAA outdoor meet. She was  as the
defending national champion, and holder of an NCAA leading 60-10
3/4 set just days before the championships  an obvious
favorite to defend her title. SMU’s Teri Steer, her closest
competitor heading into the meet, had managed a season-best throw
of only 57-2 1/4.
But Steer, riding a wave of emotion, heaved a personal-best
59-footer on her final throw, and Althouse, whose best that day was
58-8, was unable to rise to the occasion.
To be sure, Althouse’s sub-par performance at nationals was an
anomaly. Mostly, it can be attributed to the Olympic trials, for
which she has targeted her training regimen all year long. While
most athletes tapered their workouts for the NCAA meet, Althouse
was in her seventh consecutive week of heavy weight training.
"Many things went wrong, just kind of added up together," she
said. "I’ve been kind of looking past nationals, instead of
concentrating on it, because I know that my season’s going to be a
little bit longer than it usually is."
Whatever the reason behind it, though, Althouse has not taken
the loss lightly.
"It’s embarrassing for her," UCLA throwing coach Art Venegas
said. "She knew she was the favorite, and it’s tough when you’re a
favorite and you don’t get the win."
The trials, then, could be the perfect forum for Althouse to
redeem herself. Her chief adversaries in Atlanta will be Steer,
Connie Price-Smith, Ramona Pagel, Dawn Dumble and Eileen Vanisi.
The top three finishers are selected to the Olympic team, and of
her five closest competitors, Althouse has beaten Pagel, Dumble and
Vanisi in head-to-head competition.
Price-Smith is a virtual lock for one position on the team, and
Steer, well, Althouse wants to beat her more than ever.
"I feel that I’m a more motivated athlete now," Althouse said.
"I’ve learned my lesson from the NCAA meet, and hopefully that will
stop it from ever happening again."
Currently the No. 3-rated thrower in the nation, Althouse should
earn a berth in this summer’s Olympic games. And in a sport where
peak performances typically come between 28 and 32 years of age,
Althouse  at 22  is a youngster. She is, according to
Venegas, the future of throwing in America.
"They’re afraid of her," Venegas said. "They all know she’s the
one. Every young athlete and older athlete, when they see how
strong she is, they know that they just don’t have her strength or
her explosiveness.
"They’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop, for her to
really get a little fitter, and to have no school left so she can
just concentrate on throwing."
Her strength is why Althouse caught Venegas’ attention in the
first place. As a senior at Blue Springs High School in Blue Water,
Mo., she had only the third-best prep shot put mark in the nation,
and she was not a dominant discus thrower.
While most big-time track programs were overlooking Althouse,
Venegas took a chance and invited her for a campus visit. Part of
his recruiting pitch, as always, was to bring Althouse into his
throwers’ weight room at the top of Drake Stadium. There, the
spectacle of Venegas’ world class throwers pumping iron often
inspires awe in his high school prospects.
"But when I recruited Valeyta, she walked in and just shrugged
her shoulders and said, ‘There’s nothing to these people  I’m
so much stronger,’" Venegas recalled. "She knew that she was strong
coming in, and that kind of threw me off."
Today, Althouse is probably the strongest collegiate woman in
the nation. She bench presses 335 pounds, squats 500, power cleans
280 and power snatches 220.
"She’s in another league in all these lifts," Venegas said. "She
could be world class as a lifter, and not just as a thrower. People
reading a Daily Bruin article are the guys who go to the Bruin
Brawn or to the Bruin place here in the Wooden Center, and they’ll
just doubt that bench, they’ll say that’s impossible.
"But it’s legitimate, solid bench pressing  sets of four
at 315 pounds  and some guys dream of doing one rep with
three big plates on each side."
Said UCLA sophomore Suzy Powell, who throws the discus for the
Bruins: "Let’s just face it, V’s a natural wonder."
Last week, that strength meant nothing in the NCAA upset. Next
week, the hope is that the strength will help to put the victory
back in V.
SCOTT O/Daily Bruin
Holder of the best mark in collegiate history, shot putter
Valeyta Althouse figures to make the Olympic team this summer.