GODINA THROWS HIS WEIGHT AROUND IN SHOT PUT, DISCUS.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Daily News Staff Writer

There was John Godina in one class. Then every other shot putter and discus thrower in another.

Godina won the shot put with a best-of-the year mark of 71 feet, 5-1/2 inches, outdistancing eight overmatched opponents by an average of almost 10 feet Sunday at the Mt. SAC Relays.

Godina also won the discus with a throw of 218-0. The shot put/discus combination of 289-5-1/2 was a one-day world record.

Godina surpassed 70 feet on three of his first four shots, going 70-10 on his first attempt, 71-5-1/2 on his second and 70-1 on his fourth.

Godina, a two-time world shot-put champion, was aiming for 73 feet.

``I guess my distance was good, but there was two or three feet that I just didn't get,'' Godina said. ``I was hitting further in warm-ups, but that's the way it goes sometimes.''

Is it difficult to get motivated when no one else is close?

``For the first couple of meets, (being pushed) doesn't really matter because I'm just trying to get in a groove,'' he said. ``Later on, it will help.''

Art Venegas, Godina's coach, figured Godina performed as expected, but better efforts are to come.

``John had a relaxed technique, but his timing really isn't there yet. To do better he needed to be either super-relaxed or really pushed. It's one or the other.''

Godina set 1998 standards on his first two shots. His best mark last year, 71-4-1/2, was bettered by one inch on his second go.

Godina won the 1997 Mt. SAC event with a shot of 69-1-1/2. The last Mt. SAC shot putter to surpass 70 feet was Randy Barnes (73-1-1/3) in 1990. John Brenner holds the meet record of 73-10-3/4 (1987).

Canada's Jason Tunks (217-2) placed second in the discus behind Godina.

Shot-putting is Godina's main event, although he was ranked No. 4 in the world.