A New PR

This past weekend I changed my plans of opening up my season at the Mt. Sac Relays and decided to take a drive to Mesa, AZ and compete. It was a last minute decision, and I am thankful to the throws coach at Mesa Community College, Colin Post, for allowing my late entry in the meet. I decided Thursday morning that I was going to drive 6 hours to Mesa, AZ after talking to my room mate and training partner Adam Kuehl. Adam went home for Easter weekend and decided that he would compete at the meet as well. He informed me that the weather was going to be prime for a discus meet, so naturally I could not resist the temptation of competing with good conditions. My girlfriend Mia and I drove out late Thursday, actually she drove the whole way, but we got into Mesa around midnight.

The next day I was very anxious to compete. I have been training for nearly 6 months straight, but have not had any competitions. It felt good to get those pre competition jitters back. Once I got to the track and felt at ease and ready to compete. The winds were blowing strong as a headwind which can be good but not optimal such as a right cross wind blowing across the discus sector.

The competition started and I was the last thrower in the flight. I got in the ring and wound up and went to throw, but I tried to hard and top the discus causing it to fall far short of where I wanted it to fly. My second throw was better around 59.30m which would have been my best season opening throw ever. I then got in for my 3rd throw and connected with it and sent it flying 62.77m which is a new personal best for me. The meter distance converts to 205' 11 1/2". This is also the Olympic B standard which I need to attain 4 more times during the season to ensure my place here at the Olympic Training Center.

It was a very exciting weekend for me and well worth the trip to AZ. I also got the chance to see some of my old team mates from the University of Minnesota. I definitely made me miss home.