NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Veronica Fraley is in the middle of what she hopes is a storybook year in what has been a dream of hers for most of her life; to compete and the highest levels and become a champion.
It’s a mission that Fraley feels was manifested on to her by her late grandfather when he nicknamed her ‘Baby Champ’ several years ago.
“My first tattoo says ‘Baby Champ” because that’s what my granddaddy called me,” Fraley said. “So when he passed away a few years ago it’s cool to walk into that name for the first time and be like, ‘dang, I am a champion now.’”
Grandpa’s words turned prophetic when Fraley won the discus national title at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. last weekend. In a competition that saw different competitors atop the leaderboard through the preliminary rounds, Fraley took the lead with a sensational fourth throw.
The Vanderbilt graduate student’s toss went 63.66 meters, the 11th longest throw in NCAA history.
“I knew there were bigger throws to be had,” Fraley said of her first three efforts. “I needed more obviously, so I made a little tweak. As a thrower you kind of feel everything in the ring and that’s the feeling I was looking for. I think walking out of the ring I knew I had (done) something (good).”
The throw’s distance would stand up over the competitions final two rounds as Fraley became just the third individual national champion in Vanderbilt school history. She joins former Commodores track star Ryan Tolbert, who won a title in 1997, and 2022 golf medalist Gordon Sargent in the exclusive club.
“It’s just all the throws and every single day that you’re out practicing in the heat, and all that bad days where my throws are going into the cage or they’re not going right, and all the frustrations,” Fraley said. “For just like one out of six throws to be what you want is just amazing.”
Fraley’s championship pursuit began at Clemson, but she transferred to Vanderbilt for her final two years of eligibility to advance her educational and athletic pursuits. Fraley thought she could take her throws to the next level while entering a top tier master’s program.
Two and a half years later the SEC Female Field Athlete of the Year leaves Vanderbilt with two master’s degrees, a pair of conference titles and now the national championship she’d dreamed of since she was young.
“One of the reasons I came to Vanderbilt was to help build this team up and help put our name out there,” Fraley said. “We can do something. Vanderbilt may not be known as one of the best schools in the SEC but that’s definitely going to change in the near future — and I’m very glad and proud that I can be one of the first people to do that. It’s been a long time coming, and I’ve seen it since I was young, and I’m just so happy that I was just able to do it at the right time and show up at the right time to kind of check that box off finally."
And she’s not done yet.
Fraley will be heading to the U.S. Olympic Trials later this month where she will again throw the discus and compete for a spot on Team USA. She’s finished fourth at the past two U.S. Championships, but will need to find her way on to the podium this time in order to make the U.S. team.
“I was at the 2020 Olympic trials as well,” Fraley said. “I got 10th at that meet and was just kind of happy to be there, but this time I’m going in with the mindset of trying to handle business and not even just make the team but try to make the final at the Olympics and just try to climb up that ladder again.”
