July 17, 2006

San Diego, CA (CSTV U-WIRE) -- Her heart is racing, her head is pounding, she's gasping for breath.

And she wasn't even running a race.

When San Diego State coaches saw Shana Watson run in high school, they expected her to make an instant impact. Watson had the physical skills -- the speed, the strength, the leaping ability -- but she needed to make a mental leap.

Facing the pressure of college competition, Watson was plagued by panic attacks and severe anxiety during preseason workouts.

She missed six weeks.

"If I was put in a situation that was pressuring me a little bit, I would hyperventilate and I'd even pass out," Watson said.

Watson spent the time off thinking of what would happen next, what would become of her career. Once she returned in April, Watson realized she could make an impact.

"That's when everything started to come together," Watson said. "I started to drop my weight, I started eating a whole lot better, I started running faster.

"And I started thinking, 'I really can do something this year. Why wait until next year?'"

At the USA Track and Field Junior Championships last month in Indianapolis, Ind., Watson started early, earning a silver medal in the long jump and a bronze medal in the triple jump.

Watson jumped 21 feet -- nearly a foot more than her previous season-high -- to tie Jacksonville University's Natasha Harvey.

Her performance secured a berth in the 2006 World Junior Championships to be held Aug. 15 to 20 in Beijing, China.

Watson broke her previous season-high in the triple jump, clearing 41 feet, 5.25 inches on June 23.

"The whole year I kept saying it was anybody's day every day," Watson said. "That day I knew it was my day. I knew I was going to do something."

But her strong performance surprised Nanista.

"I knew she was going to do some good things, but I really didn't honestly think she was going to come around as fast as she did," Nanista said. "We were a little bit concerned with her, with how her body was going to react and whether she was going to be able to perform, but she really came around."

(C) 2006 The Daily Aztec via CSTV U-WIRE