Tapenisa "Tap" Havea's first three seasons at the University of Arizona were defined by consistent success.

The New Zealander hit personal bests, won or placed in the top three in many shot put and discus events and threw her way into the Arizona record books.

And yet, for Havea, it wasn't enough.

Heading into her senior year, she knew there was so much left untapped. And with her college career coming to a close, she needed to prove to herself that she could do what she had set out to do when she arrived at Arizona.She knew that wanting it and doing it are two different things.

She needed to figure out what it would take to make it happen.

"I switched my mindset a lot throughout the winter. I realized I had so much doubt and so much just worry about, like, 'Who am I gonna go up against? Who am I like? Who do I need to be?'" Havea said. "I'm throwing with them, but I'm trying to beat myself my previous, personal best. I think having that change of mindset was amazing, because every time I go to competition, I make sure to enjoy (it), have fun. Don't overthink anything, but soak in every moment that I get to compete."

She relied on her coaches, her parents, her faith and her community to help her dig deep and find the right answers.

It all clicked in the first meet of the season as she hit a personal best throw in the shot put (56-6), taking first place.

"I had so much confidence in myself, knowing that I can throw far," Havea said after hitting a personal best in the opening meet of the season.

She went on to win the shot put at both the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, throwing 55-0.75 indoors and 52-10.75 outdoors. She finished fifth in the discus at the outdoor championships with a season-best throw of 173-7.

Next up is the NCAA West Regionals in Arkansas May 27-30 and hopefully a shot at the NCAAs at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., from June 10-14.

Havea's demeanor on and off the field has never changed. She is always smiling, and it is contagious.

She has also been with the same coach, Lucais MacKay, all four years, and that comfort and familiarity go a long way.

"We're talking the same language, similar cues for the last three or four years, but she just has a deeper knowledge of them now. I can look at her now with one hand moving and she's aware of what we're talking about. I just think the communication is deeper, and she has a greater knowledge. … Just probably overall life maturity," MacKay said. "I think everyone at this age, if they know this is their last run, there's probably another 10% that we didn't get to that they now can be in charge of."

That extra 10% has shown up over the past month, even as Havea worked through a stretch of inconsistent technique, possibly a byproduct of competing at the World Indoor Championships in Poland for Team New Zealand at the end of March.

Either way, MacKay and Havea found a solution.

"We agreed to, no matter what, 'You can still push on the ball as hard as you can, even if it's off,'" MacKay said.

It's always about the little things that can give you the slight edge. The most recent tweak came at the Big 12 championships.

"We moved over in the ring like two inches, and it gave her a little different feeling, and then she got that big throw," MacKay said.

Havea has gone into each practice and event with more intention this season. MacKay noticed it even more after she competed at the World Championships.

Competing for New Zealand against the world's best left a mark. One of MacKay's former athletes at Oklahoma State, Chase (Ealey) Jackson, a two-time world champion in shot put, also served as a mentor.

Before the Big 12 championships, Havea showed MacKay her bare fingernails.

"They're all gone. Back to business … I can't be throwing stuff with nails on," she told him.

The message from Jackson had stuck.

"Chase apparently had told her at World (Championships,) 'I love them they look great, but they gotta go,' and she immediately locked in when she needed to," MacKay said. "She's making a big final push for the last month (of) the senior season."

Havea fell in love with throws because of the technical challenge. She is always learning, always focused on getting better, always chasing what she calls "figuring out how to technically throw far, but in the most efficient way."

PJ Brown is the founder of The Undercovered, a Substack newsletter covering untold stories in women's college, professional and Olympic sports. Find more of her work at theundercovered.substack.com.

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