Grace Gapen entered the recent New England Prep School Track Association Division I Championships seeded a strong second in the shot put event for Sacred Heart Greenwich, but she wound up being second to none in the competition, while making school history in the process.

A junior, Gapen won the NEPSTA Division I shot put title with a throw of 39 feet, 2.50 inches. Lauren Plummer of Loomis Chaffee, who was seeded first in the event, finished a very close second in the shot put finals at the New England championship meet at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, with a distance of 39-00.75.

Indeed, it was an exciting/emotional time for Gapen the moment she knew she captured the first-place medal in the shot put at the ultra-competitive NEPSTA Division I Championships.

“My mom started crying, my teammates started crying, winning the shot put was so exciting,” said Gapen, who has produced outstanding performances in the shot put the entire spring season for the Tigers’ track and field team. “I was against a great thrower and I never, ever beat her.”

Gapen established a personal-best effort while winning the NEPSTA Division I title in the shot put and made school history, becoming the first Sacred Heart Greenwich athlete to win an event at the New England Division I meet. The Tigers previously competed in the NEPSTA Division II Championships, but switched to Division I approximately four or five years ago.

“It was three feet farther than my previous best in the shot put,” Gapen said of her New England championship shot put throw. “We had meets against her (Plummer) last year and she was one of those girls you don’t forget. She is really good. I knew this was going to be my toughest meet all year. I had to focus on shot and the outcome was great.”

On her way to winning the shot put at the NEPSTA Division I Championships, Gapen had to execute six throws.

“Something that was interesting about all my throws was they increased all the time,” Gapen noted. “My first throw was something I consistently threw. By my last throw, my coach said ‘you can do it,’ and my last throw was my winning throw. I was so happy, I was looking for second place going into it.”

During the regular season, Gapen won each shot put competition in the FAA meets and continued her success at the FAA Championships, winning the event at the league meet.

“I had a great season, so I knew I was going to do decent at NEPSACs,” she said. “Leading up to it, my throws were good. I seem to compete better against better competition.”

Competing in a championship meet, while vying for first place in an event comes with pressure, which Gapen doesn’t mind.

“When the pressure is on, I seem to do my best,” she said. “When I’m throwing shot put, I feel like there is nothing to lose, the adrenaline is kicking. At the NEPSAC championships, the girls were throwing around what I normally threw. Each girl just kept pushing me so hard. I compete better against competition, so that pushed me.”

Gapen began competing in the shot put as a freshman and though she wasn’t sure she wanted to stick with it at first, she continued to hone her throwing skills.

“It was during my first meet when I was a freshman, I was competing with teammate Sarah Augustine (a Sacred Heart Greenwich graduate, who also starred on the basketball court) and I was placing first and second. Eventually, I worked my way up.”

Gapen and the Sacred Heart track and field athletes underwent plenty of training under the watchful eyes and through the encouragement of coaches Michelle McCrae and Leti Freeney.

“Coach McCrae put us in the weight room and she pushed us,” Gapen noted. “We lifted harder than the other girls and spent more time in the weight room.”

Winning the shot put at the NEPSTA Division I Championships with her throw of 30-02.50 earned Gapen the honor of qualifying for the Adidas Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina. The national meet is being held June 14-16 and Gapen is scheduled to compete in the shot put event on June 16, so of course, she has continued her consistent training regimine.

The volleyball court is also an area of athletic excellence for Gapen. She is a key player on Sacred Heart’s standout varsity team, which she has been a member of since her freshman year. According to Gapen, some of her volleyball skills transfer over her shot put throws.

“I think something that helps me in shot put is volleyball,” she noted. “When I am throwing, coach told me to pretend you are going to spike a ball and give it all you have.”

Gapen enjoys the togetherness and support that is felt among the track and field throwers and not only from her Tigers teammates.

“The community of throwers, they are the nicest people ever,” Gapen said. “Everyone helps you be the best.”

Gapen, who aspires to be a college athlete, also turned in a stellar performance in the discus competition at the NEPSTA Division I Championships. She placed fourth in the discus (106-11.00). Plummer of Loomis Chaffee School won the discus title (136-03.00). The Sacred Heart team placed ninth in the team standings at the NEPSTA Division I Track and Field Championships.

Senior Nova Ramseur-Moore finished fourth for Sacred Heart in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.74 seconds, then posted a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter dash (26.35 seconds).

Victoria Hart, a senior, finished fifth in the 300-meter hurdles for the Tigers, clocking in at 16.72 seconds.

“The team finished ninth in NEPSACs,” Gapen said. “That is good for having only seven girls going to NEPSACs. “What we did with a small number was great.”