Studt Captures Big Ten Title

Studt, a junior from Ripon, Wis., won the shot put with a career-best throw of 62 feet, 11 1/4 inches, the third best mark in school history. Studt took the lead in the event on his third throw of prelims and built on his advantage, landing the winning throw on his sixth and final attempt. Minnesota throwers have captured the title in this event 12 times. Studt is the first since Karl Erickson grabbed gold in 2006.

NSIC Preview

As the clock hit midnight on July 1, 2008 the new makeup of the Northern Sun Conference became official. The NSIC became a 14-team league with the addition of Augustana College, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Mankato and St. Cloud State. Although some of the teams are former rivals from the NCC, UMD returns to a conference it dominated for many years. DtB and Throwing Farther had a chance to catch-up with a couple of their coaches.


Travis Zins, Throws Coach, St. Cloud State

How do you expect the Huskies to fare?

• I believe that the team will be in the top half of the conference. We are a younger team but we have competed well throughout the season.
  

What are you looking for out of the Husky throws team?

• Like any other coach I am hoping for Personal Best performances. We have set up the indoor season to do so and I feel pretty good about the outlook. Concerning placing, I am looking for most of our points on the shot side with both men and women. Both Adam Kershaw and Mitch Bruzik are in the top ten of the conference in both shot and weight and I am looking for them to make some noise in each event. Becca Kitzman will anchor the women's throwing where she is in the top ten of the conference for shot.

Biggest competition at conference?

• Ben Jacobson from Mary has the best throw in both shot and weight going into the weekend with a 54-4 and 59-11 respectively. He will be the favorite going in.

Is there any thrower that you see is on the cusp of a breakthrough?

• I am looking for Becca Kitzman to have a substantial breakthrough in the shot at any time. She has been improving each week in practice and meets and hopefully we will be able to get the juices flowing and have a big PR at conference.

What have been the biggest hurdles to this point?

• While I am very excited to get to conference and have great performances, I wish that I had more time for the teaching. We had a great fall and that continued into the season. We have gotten better each week with our performances, as shown with 5-6 weeks in a row with multiple pr's, and our consistency has been good as well. But, as any other coach, I wish that I had been able to work with them more to set up potential National Qualifying marks.

Eric Wirz, Throws Coach, UMD

What has been the biggest surprise of the indoor season?

• I have been a little surprised at the success of the group as a whole this indoor season. I knew going into the season that a few individuals would compete well but did not expect the success the group has had. Many of the younger throwers have had a "break out" season. We have the best senior leadership we've had in a long time and the younger group has followed their example very well. They have made it their initiative to succeed as a group.

What was the turning point of the season?

• I think the turning point for the throws group this season was the Warren Bowlus meet at UW Stout. There were many great performances and personal bests. I think it was at that point that the group realized their potential, which has been a big confidence boost ever since.

How do you expect the Bulldogs to fare as a team?

• I think both our mens and womens teams will compete very well this weekend. It will be interesting where the chips fall with the new conference layout. With the number of teams competing , the points with be much more spread out making it more of anyone's game. Mankato is a perennial power house and are the team to beat in many events. Wayne State also has a strong team. I also have a feeling Mary will be a tough team, though this weekend will be the first time we've seen them. Really, every team has a legitimate chance to win the conference title. To me, that shows the quality of the programs in the NSIC, making it one of the toughest conferences in the nation.

Biggest competition at conference?

On the women's side, I think we'll be competing with Winona for points. On the men's side, tough to answer. Seems there is tight competition across the board.

Is there any thrower that you see is on the cusp of a breakthrough?

• I could list several, but the one that stands out in my mind is Maria Swanson. She had a big meet last weekend at St. Johns, qualifying for the National meet in shot and increasing her weight throw PR by a foot and just short of a provisional mark. The light bulb has gone off so to speak, and I have a feeling her best performances are yet to come.

What have been the biggest hurdles to this point?

• Staying focused. The indoor season is pretty long, especially with all the off and pre-season training. The weather is finally starting to warm and thoughts of being outside are prevalent. Keeping the athletes focused on one last, and hopefully 2 more, indoor meets is challenging. But to their credit, they continue to work smart to finish out the season with their best performances.

John Fulkrod, Head Coach, UMD

We were optimistic going into the season that we had a lot of dedicated athletes who were going to do well and set some nice PRs. I wouldn't say I have any big surprises other than some athletes who have excelled more than you might have guessed-especially our freshman distance girl Morgan Place who leads conference honor roll in 3 events and is ranked 5th Nationally with a school record of 16:51.41 in the 5000. We have PRs of just about all our throwers and I feel several could pop that big mark to get them to Nationals - we actually have 4 different throwers who have met a National provisional mark - 3 women 1 man and we have set school indoor records in the womens shot and mens weight.

Mankato has to be favored in both the men and women. St. Cloud has a much better overall team for both men and women will be tough for us to get ahead of, Heather Miller is just a great athlete. Our biggest hurdle is the same as it has been for the last three years - we just have no luck getting all our good kids healthy and this year is no exception as we have had some injuries that have taken some totally out of indoor and an excessive amount of recent sickness that has take a toll- with that said - this is clearly the best women's team in school history - after favored Mankato it will likely be blanket finish for the next 4-5 spots in the team finish- we are one of the teams that hope to be in the blanket.

Best of luck to all the teams and athletes competing in this weekends NSIC Championships in Bemidji, MN. The competition will begin at noon on Friday with the field events. The long jump, pole vault, high jump and weight throw will be the first to be contested. The running events will begin at 3:00 p.m. The Championship resumes at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday with finals beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Big Ten Preview Q&A with Lynne Anderson

The women's team enters Bloomington, Indiana looking to defend back-to-back indoor titles. The throwing events have long been a stronghold for the gopher women. The constant through their success has been Lynne Anderson who is entering her 29th season at Minnesota.

• What has been the biggest suprise of the indoor season?

My freshmen DeAnne Hahn as in the weight throw who is throwing very far in practice even for a freshmen.

• How do you expect the Gophers to fare as a team?

We have many freshmen going to the Big 10 for the first time..it is 50/50 when ever that is the case. When we have fun and work as a group and team we do many good things!

• How do you expect your throwers to perform this weekend?

I have a freshmen who will get points in two events which is very good. I am glad she has upper class athletes to help also.

• What is your biggest competition at conference?

I the throws Michigan State is doing very well this year. He does a nice job with his throwers.

• Is there any thrower that you see is on the cusp of a breakthrough?

Everyone is right there. That is what makes the Big 10 meet such a fun time. Rest does wonders and the guessing game is not easy.

In the Circle Report

The Gopher women's team looks to be rounding into form at the right time heading into this weekend’s Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Indiana where they are the two-time defending champions. Among the Gopher throwers, senior Kari Schmidt had a season best in the shot put throwing 49-5 3/4 at the Parents Day Open. DeAnne Hahn had an outstanding meet throwing 55-6 1/4 in the weight throw and 47-7 1/4 in the shot put, both personal best marks. Schmidt and Hahn go into the weekend ranked 4th and 7th in the Big Ten in shot put. Hahn is also ranked 8th in the weight throw.

Tyler Kleinhuizen beat fellow freshmen Trey Davis by three-and-a-half inches to capture the first win of his collegiate career at last Friday's Snowshoe Open. Kleinhuizen’s mark of 55-7 and Davis’ mark of 55-3 1/2 make the second time this season that both have gone over 55 feet. The event of the weekend, however, had to be the men’s weight throw. There were 17 throwers representing all divisions with marks over 50’, including 5 throwers over the 60-foot mark. Andy Bastian (61-3) and Aaron Studt (66-11 1/4) were among four Gophers to surpass the 60 foot mark.Studt finished second by ¼ inch to former St. Lawrence University (NY) graduate and current St. Kate’s coach Bryan Tolcer who was competing unattached. Studt’s performance earned him his third Big Ten Athlete of the Week honor and ranks him #2 in the Big Ten and #15 in Division I.New to the 60-foot club is red shirting freshmen Micah Hegerle. Hegerle tied in the event with Davis at 60-1 1/4. Davis’ mark broke his own freshmen record by a quarter inch, which he'd set January 31st at Nebraska.

The Gopher men travel to State College, Pennsylvania this weekend to compete in the Big Ten Championships. The Gophers enter the weekend with four throwers ranked in the top ten in their respective events. Davis and Kleinhuizen are 8th and 10th in the shot put going into the weekend. Senior Andy Bastian is ranked 4th in the weight throw along with Studt enters ranked 2nd in both the shot put and the weight throw. Studt comes into this weekend with a great opportunity to earn his first Big Ten title.

University of Minnesota Duluth senior Maria Swanson improved her provisional mark in the shot put (43'7 3/4") and just missed in the weight throw (51' 1/4") en route to two victories at the CSB Quad last weekend.

Mid-Season Report

Since the last "In the Circle" update we have seen some great performances out of some of Minnesota's finest throwers. Here are some of the highlights ...

Gophers women may not be large in numbers but senior Kari Schmidt and sophomore Hannah Studt are making up for it with some great performances. Kari Schmidt has been a model of consistency in shot put with a season best mark coming at the Minnesota Open on January 17th with a mark of 48-9. That mark currently ranks her 4th in the Big Ten. Sophomore Hannah Studt, sister-in-law of Gopher standout Aaron Studt, has been backing up her title as 2007 Wisconsin Gatorade Athlete of the Year. Her mark of 55-4 1/4 in the weight throw, also at the Minnesota Open, has moved her up to 6th all-time at Minnesota.

Men's coach Lynden Reder says his squad is starting to turn the corner, as evidenced by some great marks at the Nebraska Adidas Invitation in Lincoln, Nebraska on January 31st. Junior Aaron Studt emerged from the weekend with 2 victories and a new personal best. Studt improved his personal best and his provisional qualifying mark in the weight throw to 66-1. Senior Andy Bastain chimed in with a long awaited PR in the weight throw at 63-6 and Trey Davis broke Aaron Studt's freshmen record in the weight throw with a mark of 60-1.
Studt and Bastain currently rank 2nd and 4th in the Big Ten. The men also finished 1-2-3 in the shot put with Studt again leading the way at 56-11 1/2. Trey Davis and freshmen Tyler Kleinhuizen had big PR's coming in at 56-9 1/2 and 56-0.

Davis and Kleinhuizen have a long competitive history that dates back to their junior years in high school when the Forrest Lake (Kleinhuizen) and Farmington (Davis) alumni battled over two state titles with each laying claim to one.

Redshirting freshmen Micah Hegerle has continued to show improvement in the weight throw over the indoor season. His mark of 57-5 last weekend at Bethel was almost a 6 foot improvement on the season. Studt, Davis, and Kleinhuizen currently rank 5th, 6th, and 9th in the Big Ten.

Also ... Iowa State freshmen LaiShima Hampton (St. Louis Park) marked a huge personal best and got the win at the ISU Open with a throw of 56-3.




Uninversity of Minnesota - Duluth Senior Tom Soldner (Cold Spring) broke his brother's (Dan Soldner) school record in the weight throw with a Division II provisional mark of 57-3 1/2.