Cherokee's Woodard top girls' track performer

No great shot putter ever threw the discus better than Jess Woodard.

No great discus thrower ever performed better in the shot put.

"It's the combination that makes her so special," Cherokee throws coach John McMichael said of Woodard's two-event excellence.

Woodard capped an incredible high school career with an incredible senior season at Cherokee. She is The Inquirer's South Jersey girls' track and field athlete of the year for 2013.

"I'm humbled by it," Woodard said. "I love track so much, and to be able to work so hard and perform so well, it's such a blessing.

"This was the best senior season I could have asked for."

Woodard won six outdoor state titles in her career, capturing first place in Group 4 competition in the shot put and discus as a sophomore, junior, and senior.

She won the Meet of Champions in the discus as a sophomore and junior. But she topped that in 2013 by taking the discus (161 feet, 11 inches) and shot put (47-11/4) in the competition that brings together state champions and top finishers in every group.

Woodard, a University of Oklahoma recruit, defied the statistical odds by throwing exactly 168-0 in winning the discus at the South Jersey Group 4 championships and the state Group 4 championships.

The 168-0 was the second-longest throw in state history.

"I never thought I would do that," Woodard said of throwing the same distance on consecutive Saturdays at Egg Harbor Township.

Woodard said her personal highlight was her performance at the Penn Relays, in which she was third overall and the top American finisher in the discus with a 156-5.

"That was a big moment," Woodard said.

Woodard's versatility extended beyond her excellence in the shot put and discus. She took third in the javelin - an event she rarely practiced - at the South Jersey Group 4 meet, scoring points that helped Cherokee capture the team title in a tight race.

She also was known to run the 100 meters or a leg of the 4x100 relay.

"She has always been all about the team," McMichael said.

McMichael thinks Woodard is the best female weight thrower in New Jersey history. He notes that she finished her career with the No. 2 discus throw and No. 6 shot put on the all-time list.

"Her body of work is mind-boggling," McMichael said. "She's the best combination thrower that's ever been."