The University of Mississippi Athletics
SPOTLIGHT: Smith Works As Hard As She Throws
10/13/2010 | Track and Field
Oct. 13, 2010
By Mike Swartz
Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations Student
When asked to describe her senior All-SEC and school record-holding thrower, Ole Miss track and field assistant coach Erin Wibbels simply called her "a treasure." Then she laughed and said, "I'm not even kidding."
A senior from Loganville, Ga., Juliana Smith works hard at more than just throwing. Smith spent the past summer studying abroad in Scotland where she met with DEA, FBI and MI5 agents, among others, to receive "a different perspective on how they serve the U.S. abroad."
Smith, a criminal justice major, plans to get a job within an intelligence agency serving her country after graduation. She left the United States this summer, however, to get a different view from home.
"Coming from New Jersey to Atlanta to Mississippi, there's a huge culture difference in Scotland, and it was good to see that," Smith said.
Although Smith can be characterized as a juggernaut in the classroom (she maintains a 3.6 grade point average), some may argue she does an even better job in the throwing circle.
She began throwing in ninth grade claiming she needed to do something active. "I didn't think I was good enough to make the basketball team so I tried throwing," Smith said. Her sister, Frances, threw at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey where she holds the school's discus record.
When deciding on which college to attend, Smith credits the Ole Miss track team and Wibbels for pulling her in.
"I came here during the summer, so the campus was dead," Smith said, "but I fit in really well with the team and I clicked with Coach Wibbels."
During the indoor season as a freshman, Smith recorded the second-best shot put throw in school history. She came into her sophomore season throwing even harder.
"She was a surprise, really," Wibbels said. "She was good in high school, but she blew up in college. It was like you didn't know what you had."
With the hard work and effort she has become known for, she posted one of the best seasons in Ole Miss track and field history in 2008-09. During the indoor season, she broke the school's weight throw record by over five feet with a throw of 63-4.25 and went on to become only the second female in school history to win an SEC Indoor Track Championship, doing so in the weight throw.
Carrying her determination and hard work into the spring for the outdoor season, Smith hit the record books again. She threw 48-5.25 in the shot put, placing her third in the school's record books after Davina Orieukwu broke the school record that same season. Smith then broke yet another school record, her second record in a year, when she threw 189-10 in the hammer throw, beating the previous school record by 10 feet.
Many athletes' great performances can be credited to the abundant amount of work they put in, and Smith is a poster child for hard work paying off.
"With Juliana, leadership has never been a question," Wibbels said. "She loves to work hard and always gives it everything she has."
As a junior, Smith posted strong showings again in the hammer throw, but she was limited by injuries.
For her upcoming senior season, both Smith and her coaches expect her to break through the high ceiling she has set.
"Our biggest concern is health. She just had foot surgery and we need her to stay strong," Wibbels said. "Of course, we want to win another SEC Championship, but our main goal is to make her an All-American and win the National Championship."
"I definitely expect to raise the school record I have," Smith said. "I've always said if you can't beat yourself then who else can you beat?" Sharing the same goal as her coach, becoming an All-American is her number one goal for the upcoming 2010-11 indoor and outdoor track seasons.
As for Smith's future plans for life outside of track, she would like to pursue a career much like the ones she observed this past summer in Scotland.
"Ideally I'd like to get a job within an intelligence agency, but it's a long hiring process," she said. "My backup plan is to attend graduate school. I'm looking at Florida A&M and of course here at Ole Miss."
The term "student-athlete" is easily definable, but it's the balance between these two that is difficult to determine. With Juliana Smith, there's an average distribution between the two, but what is well above average is the amount of effort, hard work and outstanding results that arise from each.