Shot Put Champion Escaped Brunt of Winds That Tore Though Mt. Juliet, Tenn.

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Zoe Vlk is counting her blessings these past few days.

The Wilson Central High senior and New Balance National Outdoor shot put champion lives in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – Stewarts Ferry Pike, a road off Mt. Juliet Road to be exact – one of the areas affected by the tornadoes that ripped through Middle Tennessee early March 3, killing at least 25 people.

The area of Mt. Juliet where Vlk and her family live was not affected.

“The experience wasn’t that much until the day after because that entire night, since it didn’t hit us that hard, or at least it didn’t affect our household, a lot of us were still asleep,” Vlk explained. “So it wasn’t until the day after when the news was going that we realized just how bad the entirety of it was.”

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According to the National Weather Service, winds reached as high as 165 miles per hour, and multiple tornadoes were responsible for the damage that wrecked hundreds of buildings, homes and schools.

The worst tornado was located in Cookeville in Putnam County, 80 miles east of Nashville and was rated an EF-4 with winds as high as 175 mph.

“It makes me understand we are very mobile and things can change instantly without us knowing,” Vlk said. “It’s scary.”

As of Sunday, Vlk said she is still planning to travel to New York this weekend for the New Balance Nationals Indoor, where she is entered in the championship section of the shot put and weight throw. The bigger concern for Vlk is the Coronavirus and travel implications.

Vlk said her school located in Lebanon is fine, but West Wilson Middle and Stoner Creek Elementary, two schools she attended growing up, sustained extremely heavy damage and will not be in use for the remainder of the school year.

Christine Miller, the wife of Vlk’s throwing coach Braidy Miller, is the principal at Springdale Elementary, a local school that has been keeping busy helping out the community.

Vlk also mentioned friends of hers who live on the other side of Mt. Juliet, sustained damage, including the loss of power for days.

“We’ve been talking about it, and it’s kept us busy, because my parents have been helping a lot with the clean up work,” Vlk said. “It keeps us busy and it keeps us vigilant.”

Vlk said her throwing schedule hasn’t been affected. She heads into NBNI after winning the state shot put 43-6.75 (13.27m) and weight throw 52-2 (15.90m) titles Feb. 22. She’s currently ranked No. 5 in the country in the weight 55-6.50 (16.92m).

“My goals are to PR as best as I can,” she said. “In the weight I’m aiming for over 60 feet.”

Vlk, who will attend the University of Tennessee this fall, said she doesn’t feel any pressure as the defending outdoor shot champion, a title she won with a personal-best throw of 49-1.50 (14.97m).

“I think I’ve kind of separated those and this is a whole new time,” she said. “If I’m going to do well, it’s because I’ve worked hard.”

While it’s been a whirlwind and life-changing start to the month of March for Vlk, she’s found a positive outlook on what has happened to her home state.

“It’s terrifying, but at the same time I find it very bonding and uniting,” she said. “It’s terrible the damage that has happened, but at the same time, I see so many people go out to help other people and it really makes me happy that it turned out like this and not worse.”