Perseverance is key to Samantha Noennig’s success
TUCSON, Ariz (BVM) — All-American Samantha Noennig has come a long way since tearing both her ACLs in high school.
Noennig redshirted her first year at Arizona State University (ASU) and competed the next two years.
She earned first team All-American honors after placing seventh in shot put at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships in 2018.
In her redshirt sophomore year, Noennig became a two time NCAA national champion after winning shot put at the indoor and outdoor Pac-12 conference meets in 2019.
Last spring, Noennig was leading the nation in shot put and was set to compete in the 2020 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships before it was cancelled, along with the outdoor season, due to COVID-19.
Noennig is currently ranked number one in the nation collegiately in shot put.
“It’s nice to be number one, but it’s not something that you want to get used to,” Noennig said. “You want to keep pushing forward.”
Pushing forward is exactly what Noennig did after tearing one ACL her sophomore year and the other her senior year of high school. The second time around, she recovered in four months rather than six months as she had the first time.
Noennig attended Hartford Union High School in Wisconsin where she ended up being a five time all-state track athlete and three time state champ in shot and disc.
Looking back, Noennig “definitely didn’t expect” that she would come to be ranked number one.
“When I was in high school…I wasn’t like a national superstar,” Noennig said. “A lot of people really didn’t know who I was. So coming to college, I was this shy, young little thrower that really didn’t have a clue what she was doing yet. I worked really hard and surrounded myself with really good people and it just kind of went there.”
Noennig has also competed for Team USA on three occasions. Her first time was when she was a junior in high school.
“I had to place top two to make the team to go to the world youth championships in Columbia,” Noennig said. “I tied for second… It was a couple centimeters that separated me and the other girl on our second marks and mine happened to be farther, so I got to go.”
Noennig had a lot of fun and made some good friends, but did not compete as well as she had wanted to. Luckily, she competed a second and third time for Team USA.
“The second and third time I felt like I was a little bit more prepared to compete at that level,” Noennig said. “It was really cool because I got to be on the podium twice…They were definitely learning opportunities, but they were also super fun.”
It has been especially fun for Noennig’s mother, Debra, to watch her daughter, as she was Noennig’s inspiration for starting track in seventh grade.
“My mom was a heptathlete in college,” Noennig said. “I had always loved watching it and my mom would tell me about her college experiences. She was like, ‘Do you want to do a track meet?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, sure!’ and I just kind of fell in love with it.”
Noennig’s favorite memories are of the two NCAA national championships because in both of them she had to come from behind to win.
In her first national championship appearance, Noennig was in first place until the last round. The girl ahead of her had thrown farther, moving Noennig into second place. Last to go, Noennig threw a PR to win.
“In the second national championship, kind of the same thing happened, but I was not doing well at all,” Noennig said. “The girl that was winning was throwing really far and I had never thrown that far before in my life.”
However, Noennig managed to throw another PR in the fifth round to win in shot put, again.
Noennig’s current PR is 18’17 meters and she has the chance to throw a new PR thanks to the NCAA giving back the lost season allowing her to compete for two more years.
Noennig graduated from ASU this past May and transferred to the University of Arizona to pursue her masters in public health at the University of Arizona.
“I love it,” Noennig said. “It was a good move!”
Now competing for the Wildcats, Noennig has new athletic goals.
“I want to win more national championships,” Noennig said. “The Olympic trials are this year, as well. Another goal that I have is to, if I don’t make the team, at least be a good competitor in the trials.”
