Essence Henderson Season 2023

2022 Outdoor: Earned second team All-American honors in the discus by finishing 11th with a throw of 53.60m (175' 10") at the NCAA Championships ... Competed in the discus at the USATF Outdoor Championships ... Broke her own school record in the discus at the NCAA East Prelim with a throw of 58.83m (193' 0") to finish as the top qualifier in the east ... Took silver in the shot put at the ACC Championships with a heave of 17.06m (55' 11.75") ... Also finished fourth in the discus at the ACC Championships, throwing 53.50m (175' 6") to earn second team All-ACC ... At the Desert Heat Classic, placed second in the discus with a throw of 56.06m (183' 11") and fourth in the shot put with a toss of 16.51m (54' 2") ... Recorded two top four finishes at the Florida Relays, placing third in the discus with a throw of 56.77m (186' 3") and fourth in the shot put with a throw of 16.51m (54' 2") ... Opened her outdoor season with a runner-up finish in the discus at the Raleigh Relays, throwing 53.39m (175' 2").

2022 Indoor: Finished seventh in the shot put at the ACC Championships ... Won the shot put at the VMI Winter Relays with a distance of 16.94m (55’ 7”) … Recorded a third-place finish at the Doc Hale VT Elite Meet with a shot put of 16.85m (55’3.5”) … Had a toss of 17.09m (56’1”) at the Tiger Paw Invite to finish fourth.

2021 Outdoor: At the U.S. Olympic Team trials finished 16th in the discus and 17th in the shot put ... Finished seventh for first team All-American honors with a school-record discus throw of 57.72m (189' 4") at the NCAA Championships ... Set a school record in the discus at 55.66m (182' 7") at the NCAA East Prelims to earn a qualifying spot to NCAAs ... Won gold at the ACC Championships with a shot put of 17.23m (56' 6.5"), breaking her own school record ... Won the discus competition with a throw of 54.15m (177' 8") and took second in the shot put at 16.48m (54' 1") at the Virginia Grand Prix ... Finished second in the discus at 52.83m (173' 4") and placed third in the shot put with a throw of 16.47m (54' 0.5") at the Virginia Challenge ... Delivered a throw of 54.98m (180' 4") in the discus to finish fourth at the Pepsi Florida Relays.

2021 Indoor: Delivered a school record performance in the shot put with a throw of 17.36m (56' 11.5") to finish fourth and take first team All-American honors at the NCAA Championships ... Won silver at the ACC Championships with a throw of 16.55m (54' 3.75") ... Finished first with a throw of 17.01m (55' 9.75") in the shot put at the Doc Hale Elite Meet.

2020 Indoor: Won silver in the shot put at the ACC Championships with a personal best mark of 16.66 meters (54 feet, 8 inches) … Had a toss of 15.43 meters (50 feet, 7.5 inches) to finish first in the shot put at the Virginia Tech Challenge … Placed fifth in shot put with a throw of 15.63 meters (51 feet, 3.5 inches) at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational … Had a toss of 15.59 meters (51 feet, 1.75 inches) to finish second in the shot put at the Doc Hale Elite meet ... Finished second in shot put with a throw of 15.49 meters (50 feet, 10 inches) at the Hokie Invitational … 15.77 meters (51 feet, 9 inches) to finish fourth in the shot put at the Virginia Tech Invitational.

Iowa State: Qualified for the 2018 NCAA West Preliminaries in the shot put and the discus throw ... Threw personal best marks of 15.85 meters (51 feet, 3 inches) in the shot put and 51.62 meters (169 feet, 4 inches) in the discus throw.
 
High School: Two-time Indiana state champion in the discus and earned a state title in the shot put as a senior for Lafayette Jefferson … made the state finals in both events her final three years in high school… won the discus state championship her senior year by over 13 feet … personal best throw of 49' 7" in the shot put ranked fifth among high school athletes in the country last season for outdoors … her indoor PR of 47-9 1/2 ranked seventh in the country for the indoor shot put in 2017.

Personal: Born on May 11, 1999 … daughter of Faye Jones … majoring in Public Health.

Henderson's Track and Field Career Bests