Written by Kaelyn Spickler
Jessica Calascione
Track and Field
Thrower
Senior Jessica Calascione is the perfect role model for any athlete who suffers a tragic injury but hopes to bounce back. During her senior year of high school, she injured her shoulder and faced a long road of recovery. “I didn’t compete my first two years here because I had shoulder surgery. It was so bad that I couldn’t even hand write any more, so I had to reteach myself that. Last year I was rehabbing the whole time. I couldn’t brush my own hair, so I was just trying to get back into it. This is the first year that I’ve actually been healthy, so I was just trying to have fun,” Calascione said.
This year has been a lot of fun and certainly rewarding. “I threw my best shot put in outdoor at High Point a couple of weekends ago. I’m chasing that outdoor record right now. In discuss I am so close to the school record. I’m just a quarter of an inch away, and discuss is a game of feet. It’s looming in me that I only have three or four more meets left to leave my impact and get that record. I definitely want to make my mark, “ Calascione said.
The senior currently throws 40.65 meters in discuss which equates to 133 feet and nine inches. In shot put she throws about 40 feet and nine inches. She hopes to be able to increase those distances just enough to break the record.
Her coach as been there for her this whole time and has seen the rehabilitation process. Calascione says she would not be where she is at today without her encouragement and support.
Jessica Calascione is Roanoke College Track and Field’s perfect Cinderella story, and we are excited to see what the remaining meets have in store for her. This weekend Calascione and the rest of the team will travel to Elon University, and then there is only one more meet until ODACs.
