By JASON KETZ
Sports Editor

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Caniggia Raynor came all the way from Jamaica to beat some records at Central.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY UCM ATHLETICS
At the Emporia State Relays on Saturday, March 2, senior thrower Caniggia Raynor broke the school record in the hammer throw with a mark of 223 feet and 10 inches.

Not only does Raynor, a senior track and field thrower, hold the school record in the hammer throw with a mark of 196 feet 1 inch, he also holds the top spot in the weight throw and discus while earning All-American honors in each event at the national meet.

With all of his success four years ago at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, the UCM coaching staff took notice and thought he could make an immediate impact on Central’s track team.

“The talent level was very high,” said Tucker Woolsey, UCM throwers coach. “He came with some good recommendations from a respected program, and we didn’t feel that we were taking a big chance with the athleticism and the marks he had.”

During his first semester at UCM, Raynor won the indoor conference title in the weight throw with the third farthest mark in school history at 67 feet 8 inches.

He then followed with a sixth-place finish at the national meet to earn his first All- American award.

In his first outdoor season, he set a new personal best in the hammer throw of 215 feet 1 inch at the UCM Mule Relays, which became a new national-record for the native Jamaican.

“It’s a great feeling to hold the national-record,” Raynor said. “But at the same time I know that I have a long ways to go to put that record where it needs to be and set the standard for the event in Jamaica.”

Raynor later took home a sixth place finish in the hammer throw and was crowned the national championship in the discus with a mark of 196 feet 1 inch, making it the farthest throw in division II for the year and the second furthest mark in UCM history.

“It was a great accomplishment for me,” Raynor said. “After missing out of being a national champion at Johnson County, to come out and grab a national title in my last throws, it made all of the hard work worth it.”

In his senior season, Raynor defended his title as the conference champion in the weight throw with a mark of 66 feet 11 1/2 inches and took home a second place finish at the national meet where he was just one centimeter away from tying his personal best.

Woolsey said he was proud of the way Raynor was able to progress through his time in the weight throw.

“He went to the national meet prepared,” Woolsey said. “He threw a great throw and that’s all you can really ask for at the national meet and try to get to your personal best.”

Now in his final outdoor season, Raynor is set to defend his national title in the discus and has the goal of becoming a national champion in the hammer throw.

“My main goal is to take home two more titles,” Raynor said. “I also want to break the school record in the hammer throw and further my record in the discus and leave my legacy here at UCM.”

While he was a student at Ridgeport High School in his hometown of Portmore, Jamaica, Raynor was walking home from school one day and saw a fellow classmate throwing the shot put. He thought it was interesting, so after talking to his dad, he wanted to give the sport a try.

“The next day I came out and picked up the discus,” Raynor said. “I did some basic turning drills, and the coach told me that I could be pretty good.”

After two years of throwing, Raynor decided to transfer to nearby Kingston High School where he kept training and was told by his coaches to take the SAT so colleges in the United States could recruit him. After several colleges had contacted him, Raynor decided to attend JCCC, where Central first noticed him.

“It was a special time,” Raynor said. “My freshman year I saw the hammer throw in the Olympic games, and I set some goals, and by my sophomore year, I ended up breaking the school record in the event.”

With all of his accomplishments so far, Raynor has the aspirations to compete at the 2020 Olympic games and represent his native country of Jamaica, something that Woolsey thinks is certainly a possibility.