1.     Throw 17.50 meters in the weight throw … check.

2.     Have fun … check.

3.     Finish the season as an All-American … unchecked.

NCAA Indoor Championships Official Website Championship Videos Championship Photos

For now.

By 8 p.m., Friday evening, however, the Cardinal junior is hoping to check that off his list as well.

“I'm really excited and can't wait to compete,” said Brueggen, who is one of 14 qualifiers competing in Friday's weight throw at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships in Greencastle, Ind. “I want to show everyone what Saint Mary's track and field is all about. I have been putting in countless hours in the weight room and in the circle — not I finally get to see it pay off.”

And if Brueggen throws anywhere near his school-record and national-qualifying mark of 18.34, coach Shawn McMahon is confident he'll be returning to campus as an All-American.

“This is a very talented (weight throw) field — 10 of the 14 competitors were automatic qualifiers,” said McMahon, noting that Brueggen will enter Friday's preliminaries seeded 10th in the 14-person field. “Andrew has high expectations — he wants to be an All-American and he wants to throw 19 meters.

“If he can throw 19 meters — which is not out of the question — we might not just be talking about an All-American, but about a national champion.”

An NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships qualifier in the hammer a year ago while at St. Thomas, Brueggen is hoping to utilize that experience to his advantage this time around.

“Last year at the outdoor championships, I was really nervous and was out of my comfort level a bit — I had never even made it to state in high school — unless you count playing the tuba at State Solo and Ensembles,” joked Brueggen, who certainly has been no laughing matter in the weight throw circle this season — earning all-conference honors at the MIAC Indoor Championships last weekend with a second-place throw of 18.06 meters. “If you talk to anyone who actually knows me, they will tell you that my focus is being unfocused — I'm there to have fun and do what I love doing.”

And, he hopes, become an All-American in the process.

“I just missed indoor nationals last year by an inch and a half, and that's what has fueled me this year,” Brueggen said. “I want to show everyone what I can do. If you told me two years ago that I was an automatic qualifier in the weight throw, and that I'd be going to nationals, I would have told you you were crazy and left it at that.

“It means so much to me to finally see all the hard work pay off,” Brueggen added. “I thank the Lord every day for giving me the opportunity to be able to make it this far and do this well.

“My goal Friday is to leave nothing in the circle … well, besides my body — otherwise it would be a scratch.”