Throws Community Mourns the Loss of Glenn Amundsen

The track and field community of Minnesota lost one of it's greats this past Saturday.  Glenn was not only the long time throws coach at Stewardville High School, but he coached numerous athletes across southeastern Minnesota.  His love of the sport is recanted by the numerous athletes and lives he touched.  Many of the athletes Glenn coached went into coaching because of the inspiration and guidance he provided.  The Glenn Amundsen Invite, held annually in Stewardville, is named in his honor.  For many of us who only knew Glenn as coach, it's amazing to read his obituary and see the amazing life he has lead.  Online condolences are welcome via the link below.

We send our condolences to his family and all of those who had a chance to work with Glenn, he will be missed.

Visitation and Mass will be held on Wednesday, February 26th at St. Francis Catholic Church. 


http://mackenfuneralhome.com/memorial-services/glenn-b-amundsen/

Senior captain and returning All-American Jon Lehman (Coon Rapids) has been quick to shake off the rust this indoor season.  Lehman broke the school record previously held by Micah Hegerle this evening, winning the Bill Bergen Invitation at Iowa State with a throw of 72-5.  Jon opened the season with a throw of 71-11 to win the Northwest Open at the University of Minnesota on January 18th.  Jon's mark of 72-5 moves him up to 4th in Division 1 as of Friday night.



Lehman is joined in the national ranks by fellow Gophers junior Justin Barber (Mequon, WI) who is 17th in the weight throw and junior Mark Jennings (Marion, IA) who ranks 45th in the shot put.

The Gopher women were in action in the weight throw Friday night as well.  The women placed 4 in the top 12 led by junior Devin Stanford (Milwaukee, WI) fourth (57-7 3/4), sophomore Lyndsey Thorpe (Stanley, WI) in fifth (57-0 1/4), freshmen Kailee Kamps (Beloit, WI) (49-5 1/2) in 10th and freshmen Angie Guenther (White Bear Lake) (49-4 1/2) in 12th.

The Gophers are in action next weekend at the Iowa State Classic.

Mankato State senior Chris Reed has left little doubt the rest of Division 2 will be chasing in 2014.  Reed has broken his own school record in the shot put three times already this indoor season, most notably at the Jack Johnson invite, setting a new meet record with a a throw of 65-5.  Chris has nearly a three foot lead on the rest of division 2 and his throw would put him 9th in all divisions.  Chris also ranks 4th in the weight throw with a mark of 64-10.  Sophomore Ryan Johnson from St. Cloud state also ranks 12th in the weight throw with a mark of 60-5 1/4

Many Minnesotans can now look west to see the state's all time greats competing at Arizona State.  Tom Anderson (Andover) is now competing for ASU after red-shirting his freshmen year.  Tom placed 2nd among collegiate throws (5th overall) in an incredibly deep field at the NAU invite on January 24th.  Tom's mark of 60-4 1/2 currently ranks him 29th overall in NCAA Division 1 and the 2nd freshmen.

Maggie Ewen

Tom Anderson

Maggie Ewen (St. Francis) is redshirting.  Competing unattached Maggie threw 51-5 at the NAU invite, placing 4th.  If Maggie were competing for ASU her mark would also put her 29th in the NCAA field and she would be the top freshmen in the country.

Best of luck to those representing Minnesota competing near and far this weekend.

State Throws 2012 Preview

Friday morning should provide some fireworks with state record holders and defending state champions Tom Anderson of Andover (shot put) and Maggie Ewen of St. Francis (discus).

Tom Anderson comes into the meet with the 5th best throw in the country (65-8).  Anderson has made it known his desire to be the first Minnesotan to break the 70' barrier.  His father, Colin, was the first Minnesotan to break the 60' mark (Golden Valley, 1969).

The Future ASU Sun Devil (Anderson) will have a little stiffer competition in the discus on Saturday.  Bryce Johnson (Champlin Park) comes in with the top mark in the state (183-2).  Looking through the last several years of results, it's a pretty fair estimate to never count out Owatonna.  This year returns Zach Olson (North Dakota recruit) coming in off a season best mark of 164-4 from sections.  

Ewen (172-7) has broken her own state record and comes into the state meet ranked 2nd in the country only trailing current all-time high school record holder Shelbi Vaugh of Legacy TX (191-6).  Ewen will be pushed by a familiar face, White Bear Lake senior, and future Gopher, Angie Guenther.  Guenther has finished second and third behind Ewen the previous two years and comes in the competition riding a season best mark, and US Juniors qualifier, of 154-3 from section championships last week.    

The girls discus competition is extremely deep, with 12 competitors having season best marks over 130'.  9 of the girls competing are ranked in the top 100 All-Time in the discus.

Other names to watch this weekend on the east end of the track:

Ashley Thooft (St. Clair) comes in with the top marks in Class A in both events

Jordan Thornton (Lakeville South) comes in ranked 11th All-Time in both shot put and discus

USATF Juniors/Studt NACAC

Maggie Ewen capped an amazing freshmen season with a personal best of 161'6" on her final throw of competition at Drake Stadium in the USA Junior Track and Field Championships. Ewen moved from 7th to 5th on her final throw and was within 5 feet of qualifying for World Juniors.



Wisconsin freshmen Casey Dehn (Owatonna) finished 9th in the shot put with a mark of 56'10 3/4" beating former teammate and Owatonna Junior, Jake Fensky, who finished 19th with a mark 50'6".



Logan Hussung finished a decorated Farmington career off with an 18th place finish in the shot put with a mark of 53' 8 1/4" and a 19th in discus with a throw of 156'4".



Ewen, Fensky, and Hussung will all be eligible to compete in the 2011 USATF Junior Championships. The top 2 in each event move onto the World Junior Championships if they surpass the qualifying mark (typically referred to as the "A" standard in World/Olympic Championships).

Aaron Studt of the Minnesota Gophers has been selected to represent the United States in the NACAC U-23 meet held in Miramar, Florida July 9th-11th. The Men's Shot Final will be held at 6:30pm on July 11th.

Two Athletes under the age of 23 are selected per event to represent the United States. The NACAC under-23 meet will include athletes representing the following countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, El Salvado, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turk and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the United States.


Coverage of the NACAC meet will be provided by usportstv.net via a pay-per-view option online. The webcast starts at 7:35 a.m. (CST) on Friday, July 9, with continued coverage on Saturday, July 10 (6 a.m. CST), and Sunday, July 11 (6 a.m. CST). Cost is $7.95 per day or $17.95 for the weekend.

USA Juniors Preview

An outstanding trio of Minnesotan throwers take their show on the road to Des Moines this week to compete in at the USA Juniors. Logan Hussung (Farmington), Jake Fenske (Owatonna), and Maggie Ewen (St. Francis) look to qualify for World Juniors by placing in the top three Thursday and Friday.

Ewen is one of the youngest competitors at Drake and is currently seeded 9th in the discus.

Hussung is pulling double duty competing in both the shot put (12:30) and discus (2:15) on Thursday.

Hussung will not be the only familiar face for Owatonna's Jake Fenske. Fenske will be facing off against fellow teammate Casey Dehn, now competing for the University of Wisconsin.

Dehn is able to compete since the eligibility for this meet is based on qualifying mark and the not turning 20 years of age in the 2010 calendar year. Mason Finley (Kansas via Colorado and national high school record holder in the discus) is skipping the juniors and will be competing in the open section of the meet in both shot and discus. The implements are a 1.75 kg discus (up from 1.6 kg in high school and down from 2.0 in college/pro) and a 6 kg shot put (up from 12 lb in high school and down from 16 lb in college/pro). Because of the weight change the college competitors usually have a significant advantage over the high school competitors in this meet.

The best thing to come out of New Jersey since the fist pump will be on display Thursday afternoon also. Nick Vena (Morristown, NJ) to make the Junior Shot Put one of the marquee events of the meet. Vena, a junior, has won the state title, Penn Relays, and Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year honors for the last three years in New Jersey. Vena has thrown the 12 lb shot over 70'-28 times over the last year and is currently 5th all-time in the US for high school.

Best of luck to the four Minnesotans competing in the throws!!

Watch the Juniors Live here!

http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAJuniorOutdoorTFChampionships/video.asp

State Meet Final Update

With the weather holding out for a majority of Class AA boys discus and girls shot the showdown between Logan Hussung and Luke Johnson in discus did not disappoint.

Johnson took the early lead at 177'3" with his second throw in Prelims only to be bested by Hussung on his first throw in finals. Hussung had an outstanding series of throws with 4 throws over 170' and three over 175'

Kim Hovey of Red Wing avenged her discus loss to Maggie Ewen yesterday with a wire to wire win in the girls shot put. Her mark of 43'0" in shot was enough to hold off Ewen and Emily Lesser of Maple Grove

In Class A Shawn Johnson of Eveleth Gilbert left little suspense with a season best mark of 176'4" in discus in pre-lims. Johnson landed another season best of 178'4" to win the Class A discus by over 20 feet.

In The Circle Report: State Meet Friday update

2010 had the potential for a huge year for throws and it has not disappointed.

In the history of state on 5 throwers in the history of Minnesota have thrown over both 180' in discus and 60' in shot put. The 2010 season marks 3 throwers over both of those marks.

Logan Hussung of Farmington (188'4"/60'6"), Eric Stark of Pipestone (184'0"/60'3") and junior Luke Johnson of Red Wing (183'8"/62'10").

Luke Johnson's marks place him 4th all-time in the shot put and Hussung's mark in the disc is 8th all-time. Hussung, Stark, Johnson, Blaine's Dijon Starr, and Owatonna's Jake Fensky have all hit the US Junior's qualifying mark this season.

The weather tempered the distances in the Class AA shot put today at Hamline. The only finalist to mark a personal best was Sophmore Tom Anderson of Andover who finished third with a throw of 57'7 3/4". Hussung was leading from his first throw in competition until Dijon Starr's 6th and final throw moved him from 3rd to 1st by 1" over Hussung.

View Starr's winning throw here



Eveleth's Shawn Johnson (54'9"/175'10") is the leading thrower for Class A tonight in shot and tomorrow afternoon in disc with the Class A season leader in both events, Eric Stark (Pipestone) ineligible for the state competition.

On the girls side has had it's share of good marks but it has been Kim Hovey of Red Wing battling with freshmen Maggie Ewen of St. Francis. Both were within 1 foot of the All-Time best mark in the event.

Hovey (161'6"/46'4") has the top marks for the season in both events. Ewen edged Hovey today in a very competitice Class AA discus competition (159'4" to 152'1").

Both will square off again Saturday in the shot put. The duo will have company with a very consistent Emily Lesser of Maple Grove who has the potential to make the competition very interesting.

View Ewen's winning throw in today's discus

Big Ten Recap

Most thought that with Aaron Studt red-shirting during the outdoor season the Gopher men's throws might be the events that hold the squad back from repeating as Big Ten Champions. That question mark was answered with an exclamation point this weekend in Indiana.

Lead by freshmen Micah Hegerle, and Sophmores Trey Davis, and Tyler Kleinhuizen the men didn't skip a beat and scored a total of 32 points at Big Ten's.

Hegerle started the weekend off claiming his first (of what will be many) Big Ten titles in hammer on Friday with a throw of 208-3. Hegerle's best on the season was 211-5 was thrown at Iowa on May 1st and broke the freshmen record in hammer 4 times throughout this outdoor season. Hegerle's mark currently ranks 8th nationally and 19th nationally.

All three competitors scored in the discus with Davis placing third (172-5) Hegerle placing fourth (170-1) and Kleinhuizen placing sixth (164-9).

Davis capped a successful weekend for the throwers with a huge PR in the shot at 60-1/2 placing second. That throw currently ranks him 11th regionally and 15th nationally.

Even though the season just ended it's staggering to look at the depth of the roster for next season. Not only are all three returning for next season but Aaron Studt has one season of outdoor eligibility remaining. Incoming freshmen Logan Hussung (Farmington, MN) and transfer Andy Norman (Winona via Hamline University) will definately keep the cupboards stocked for coach Lynden Reder.

The Gopher women finished 2nd, falling 10.5 points short of Penn State this past weekend. Sophmore DeAnne Hahn claimed her first title in hammer with a mark of 185-8.
Junior Nicole Tzanakis placed 5th in the disc with a mark of 164-2 and true freshmen Jessica Cagle (Grand Rapids, MN) 163-1 finished 6th and finished only 1 inch off making finals in the shot put.

Just like the men, all three point scorers will return and will be joined by Kim Hovey of Red Wing.
In other regional news, Wisconsin true freshmen and former Owatonna shot putter Casey Dehn placed 8th with a mark of 56-11 1/2

2010 High School Preview

A tame Minnesota spring should lead to some big performances in the throws this season in Minnesota. The 2010 season may go down as one of the best seasons for the shot put in the history of Minnesota.

Even with the graduation all-time greats Jessica Cagle (Minnesota via Grand Rapids), Casey Dehn (Wisconsin via Owatonna), and Sean Wallace (Stanford via Owatonna) there are many returners from last seasons state meet who should make 2010 memorable.

Red Wing Junior Luke Johnson is currently ranked 20th in the history of Minnesota. His marks from 2009 (60-9 3/4, 173-2) are the second farthest recorded marks by a sophomore, only behind the state's all-time record holder in shot put, Nate Englin, and former record holder in the discus, Mike Yonkey. Johnson will likely have company over the 60' this season. South Dakota State Football recruit and Blaine standout, Dijon Starr (58- 7 1/2) and Logan Hussung of Farmington (56-4 1/2) are the among the leading contenders.

On the women's side, future Gopher, Kim Hovey (Red Wing) is the returning state champion in girls AA shot put and is looking to capture her first discus title. Kim will face stiff competition from St. Francis freshmen, Maggie Ewen (135-0), and New Prague junior Elly Reinke (135-8).

Some not-so-under the radar names to watch in 2010:

Eden Prairie senior, Tyler Kubler, whose lone indoor performance (56'7") ranks him 43rd nationally is already 4 feet farther than his top mark of 2009 is proving why he's one of the most highly recruited throwers in the Midwest.

Owatonna, who has claimed 4 of the last 6 throws titles returns Jake Fensky (Junior) as their top thrower. Owatonna has not had a problem replacing top talent over the last few years.

Spring Lake Park/St. Anthony junior, Jesse Reemtsma is the #2 returning discus thrower (170-1).

Sophomores Bryce Johnson (Champlin Park) and Thomas Anderson (Andover) had the 4th and 5th best marks by freshmen all-time in Minnesota in 2009. Don't be suprised if one, or both of these two, put up some monster marks this season. These two should be very fun to watch over the next 3 years.

Opening the 2010 Season

The weight throw has turned in some big marks early in the season in the state of Minnesota.

Gopher senior Aaron Studt opened his season with a provisional mark of 64-8 1/2 and a second place finish behind post-collegiate Bryan Tolcser. The returning Big Ten Field Event Athlete of the Year for indoors and outdoors last season only competed in the weight throw in the first meet of the season. Tolcser throw broke the NW Open meet record previoiusly held by current U of M head coach Lynden Reder.

Freshmen Micah Hegerle (Dodge Center) broke the freshmen record in the weight throw with a mark of 63-8 1/4. Hegerle had a very strong red shirt season and is positioning himself to make his mark in the Big 10 this season.

MSU-Moorhead throwers Chris Heil (Blaine) took 5th with a throw of 58-1 and Anthony Enyi (Lakeville North) threw 57-3 1/2. Enyi also won the shot put with a mark of 46-6. Enyi opened the season with a throw of 62-11 1/4 at Mankato state on Dec 5th and currently ranks 4th in Division II. Heil currently ranks 13th in Division II.

The weight throw lead to some great starts on the women's side.

Sophmore DeAnne Hahn set a new personal best with a mark of 60-4 and was just over a foot off the NW Open meet record. Hahn had a successful freshmen season after qualifying for two events (shot & hammer) in the NCAA Regional Championships. Freshmen Caitlyn Dongoske (Mound) finished 2nd in the weight throw behind Hahn with a throw of 50-4 1/2. St. Cloud State junior Rebecca Kitzman won the shot put with a throw of 41-9 1/4.


In Division II, Rebecca Stier of Winona(Grand Meadow) currently ranks 1st in the weight throw with a throw of 58-10 3/4 and sits 2nd in the shot put with a throw of 46-6.

The Gophers men's and women's squads will be home for the Minnesota Open and the Jack Johnson Classic on the 16th and 23rd. There will be a few women who will compete in Lincoln, Nebraska on the 15th and 16th.

St. Cloud State University will be hosting a youth throws clinic on January 18th. More information can be found on their website.

http://www.stcloudstate.edu/athletics/sports/track/story.asp?pubID=44&issueID=25577&storyID=30574

Studt Takes 5th at NCAA Outdoor Championships

University of Minnesota shot putter Aaron Studt finished 5th in last night's men's shot put final at the NCAA Divsion I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The junior landed a PR 63-02 3/4 on his second throw of the competition. Arizona State's Ryan Whiting won the competition with a 65-11 3/4 mark.

Studt the Big Ten indoor and outdoor champion in the event was a double all-American this season. The Ripon, Wisconsin native was the runner-up at the NCAA Indoor meet this winter.

Studt and Gophers Ready for Regionals

Gophers Competing at the NCAA Regional Championships in Norman, Oklahoma:

In order to qualify for the NCAA National Championships competitors must place in the top 5 at one of the regional meets. In the event of a poor performance or illness the NCAA has a small number of at large bids that it will award based on season performance.

Women's Shot Put, Saturday 5/30 at 12:15 PM

Freshmen, DeAnna Hahn

Women's Discus, Friday 5/29 at 5:30 PM

Sophomore, Hannah Studt

Sophomore, Nicole Tzanakis

Senior, Amanda Solberg

Women's Hammer, Friday 5/29 at 11:00 AM

Freshmen, DeAnna Hahn

Men's Shot Put, Friday 5/29 at 12:15 PM

Freshmen, Tyler Kleinhuizen

Junior, Aaron Studt

Men's Discus, Saturday 5/30 at 5:30 PM

Senior, Jerry Netland

Freshmen, Trey Davis

Men's Hammer, Saturday 5/30 at 11:00 AM

Senior, Andy Bastain

Junior, Aaron Studt

St. Louis Park (2008) graduate LaSheima Hampton will also be competing in the women's shot put.

Read about Aaron Studt in yesterday's Star Tribune article:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/46321332.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ

See Aaron's interview and winning throws from the Big Tens:

http://www.gophersports.com/newMediaPlayer/sl/console.htm?SPSID=38682&CLIP_FILE_ID=410552&type=vod&DB_MENU_ID=&DB_OEM_ID=8400&oemid=8400&CLIP_ID=402264&id=410552&SPID=3305

See Nikki Tzanakis's interview prior to the Regions:

http://www.gophersports.com/newMediaPlayer/sl/console.htm?SPSID=38651&CLIP_FILE_ID=414964&type=vod&DB_MENU_ID=&DB_OEM_ID=8400&oemid=8400&CLIP_ID=406073&id=414964&SPID=3300

All Eyes on Section 1AA

It's no secret that Minnesota is one of the toughest state meets to get into across the US. Thankfully there were no suprises out of Section 1AA. With four of the top give shot putters in the state coming out of Section 1AA let's just be thankful that they all survived via standard and will compete next Friday at Hamline in what should be one of the meet's marquee events.

Dehn (back) won the meet with 62-6, Stanford-bound Sean Wallace (left) finished second at 58-1, Red Wing sophomore Luke Johnson was third at 54-7 and Farmington junior Logan Hussung came in fourth at 54-6 all surpassing the state standard of 54-4. The next in what is becoming a emerging tradition of Owatonna throwers, sophomore Jake Fensky (right) finished 5th at 53-1.

Discus will be held Saturday at Lakeville South. There are five throwers who have thrown over the state standard this season (153-9). Dehn (187-6), Johnson (173-2), Hussung (161-3), Wallace (159-9) and Owatonna junior Brian Vargason (159-11) should all be in a good position to advance to Hamline.

The super sophomore out of Red Wing will have his chance for revenge against Dehn and Wallace in the discus on Saturday at Lakeville South. Johnson's marks rank him as the second best sophomore in the history of MN in both of shot put and discus, behind only current record holder Nate Englin (61-8 1/2, 2002) and former state record holder Mike Yonkey (174-4, 1985).

Read about Dehn and Section 1AA in the Star Tribune:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/preps/46421842.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUo8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

In The Circle Report: D2/D3 National Championships

Follow the Meets Live:

Division II:

http://www.flashresults.com/2009_Meets/outdoor/NCAADII/

Division III:

Men: http://www.raceberryjam.com/results/ncoutmenevt.html

Women: http://www.raceberryjam.com/results/ncoutwomenevt.html

NCAA Qualifiers

Shot Put

• Cody Hunt, Freshmen, Northern State, 58-8, Currently 3rd (competing 5/22 1:00 pm)
• Ben Jacobsen, Sophmore, Mary, 54-1, Currently 13th (competing 5/22 1:00 pm)
• Jeremy Soupir, Sophmore, 53-5, Finished 22nd
  
• Rebecca Stier, Sophmore, Winona St, 46-8, currently 9th (competing 5/22 7:30 pm)
• Maria Swanson, Senior, UMD, 45-5, currently 17th (competing 5/22 7:30 pm)
• Chelsey Brown, Junior, Winona St, 53-7, finished 33rd

Discus

• Rebecca Stier, Sophmore, Winona State, 148-10, currently 12th (competing 5/23 5:30 pm)

Hammer

• Michelle Potter, Sophmore, Winona State, 169-9, currently 13th (competing 5/21 3:00 pm)
• Maria Swanson, Senior, UMD, 167-6, currently 18th (competing 5/21 3:00 pm)
• Cassie Corrigan, Senior, UMD, 162-8, finished 26th

Shot Put

• John Schantzen, St. Olaf, 56-4, currently 2nd (competing 5/23 12:00 pm)
• Derall King, Sophmore, Hamline, 53-5, Currently 7th (competing 5/23 12:00 pm)
• Billy Oehlers, Senior, Concordia Moorehead, 51-9, finished 18th
  


• Sam Broderius, Sophmore, Gustavus Adolphus, 45-3, currently 6th (competing 5/23 2:30pm)
• Jenna Lewis, Junior, St. Thomas, 43-9, currently 15th (competing 5/23 2:30pm)
• Lisa Brown, Senior, Gustavus Adolphus, 43-4, currently 17th (competing 5/23 2:30pm)

Discus

• Griggin Hayes, Sophmore, St. John's, 161-3, currently 15th (competing 5/22 4:30)

• Sam Broderius, Sophmore, Gustavus Adolphus, 148-3, currently 8th (competing 5/22 1:30 pm)
• Felisha Willaert, Sophmore, St. Thomas, 143-11, currently 14th (competing 5/22 1:30 pm)
  

Hammer

• Andrew Brueggen, Sophmore, St. Thomas, 185-11, currently 4th (competing 5/21 1:00 pm)
• Aaron Wilkerson, Junior, Hamline, 176-8, finished 17th
• Andy Norman, Sophmore, Hamline, 172-6, finished 28th

• Megan Honan, Junior, St. Thomas, 162-2, finished 21st
• Jenna Lewis, Junior, St. Thomas, 155-2, finished 36th
  
  

In The Circle Report: Gophers Finish 1st and 3rd at Big Ten's

Aaron Studt defended his Big Ten Indoor title with a throw of 61-6 3/4 Sunday at Ohio State. Studt's season best mark of 61-11 1/2 was landed at the Sun Angel Classic and currently ranks 1st in the Midwest Region . Studt has consistently been over 60' this season including a 61-5 to win the 100th running of the Drake Relays in April.

See the video and interview here:

http://www.gophersports.com/newMediaPlayer/sl/console.htm?SPSID=38682&CLIP_FILE_ID=410552&type=vod&DB_MENU_ID=&DB_OEM_ID=8400&oemid=8400&CLIP_ID=402264&id=410552&SPID=3305

Studt and senior Andy Bastain (Winona, MN) went 3-4 in hammer at Big Ten's with throws of 196-11 and 192. Senior Jerry Netland (Bagley, MN) finished his career as Gopher with an 8th place finish in the discus (164-7). Studt (197-0, 7th) and Bastain (196-1, 9th) season best marks will carry them through to the Midwest Region Championships on May 29-30 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Freshmen Trey Davis (Farmington, MN) and Tyler Kleinhuizen (Forrest Lake, MN) have also qualified for the Region Championships. Davis' career best throw in discus at the Mesa Classic of 172-8 (14th in Midwest Region) and Kleinhuizen's 58-1 3/4 (8th in Midwest Region) at the Bolstorff Twilight will give them a chance to extend their successful freshmen campaigns.

Although the Gopher men lose Bastain and Netland to graduation the strong performances of Davis, Kleinhuizen, redshirting freshmen Micah Hegerle (166-discus and 181-hammer), and a senior season for Aaron Studt should provide some fireworks for coach Lynden Reder again next season.

The women's team came up just 7.5 points short of winning an outdoor title to match their indoor title back in March of this year.

For the throws, the the women had a 3rd, 5th, and 7th place finish out of Nicole Tzanakis(152-8), Amanda Solberg (148-03), and Hannah Studt (145-7) in the discus. DeAnne Hahn finished 3rd in the hammer (176-6) and 8th in the shot put (46-6).

The women's Regionl meet will also be held on May 29-30 in Norman, Oklahoma. Senior Kari Schmidt (Chisago Lakes, MN) is 24th in shot put. Nicole Tzankis (13th), Amanda Solberg (14th), and Hannah Studt (19th) are in contention for discus. Freshmen DeAnne Hahn is currently ranked 11th in the hammer (181-0) and 20th in the shot (48-2 1.2) going into the Regional Championships.

Coach Lynn Anderson and the women's squad also received great news with the signing of Jessica Cagle of Grand Rapids, MN. Cagle is the Minnesota's All-Time record holder in the women's discus (162-4) and was one of the most heavily recruited throwers in the country.

In Carson, CA at the Adidas Track Classic this past weekend former Gopher All-American Karl Erickson finished 4th in the discus with a throw of 194-8. Erickson currently ranks 5th in the US with a throw of 200-3.

High School Throws Seminar

Vantage Sports Performance Pre-season High School Throws Clinic

When: Saturday, March 7, 2009, 9:30 a.m. – noon

Where: Andover Community Center Field house (15200 Hanson Blvd. NW)$20 (includes t-shirt)

Can’t wait for spring? Ready for track & field season to begin? Get a head start with Vantage.
Receive basic instruction and technical review of throwing fundamentals, plus training tips, from experienced throws coaches. Both the discus and shot (glide & rotation) will be covered, and indoor implements will be provided (or bring your own). Bring throwing shoes if you have them. The session will be conducted in a field house with an all-sport surface.
Brush up on the basics and have some fun while getting an opportunity to throw before the season starts, and get a free t-shirt, too.

Contact Vantage at info@vantagesportsperformance.com for registration info.

CoachKurt Threinen is a USATF Level II certified throws coach with 15 years of experience coaching high school and college throwers.
Michelle Hockersmith throws coach from Totino Grace High School. Experience in throwing at the high school level. Trained in technical skill and instruction under her father, Bob Bradt, a well respected throws coach at high school and college level, who has had success in sending kids on to D1 schools.

http://www.vantagesportsperformance.com/track/index.html.

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.