GREENCASTLE, Ind. — When
Andrew Brueggen (Holmen, Wis.) took the circle for his first toss at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships, the Saint Mary’s University junior wanted to make a good first impression.
Well, make that a good second impression.
And he certainly did that.
Brueggen — competing in his first-ever indoor national championships — scratched on his first throw of the competition, but rebounded with a school-record toss of 18.70 meters in his second throw.
A throw that not only broke his own school record, but also earned Brueggen All-American honors, as the SMU junior finished fourth overall with his 18.70 throw.
“I’m on top of the world,” said Brueggen. “When I scratched on that first throw, I was a little worried, thinking, ‘I have to make sure to get a (qualifying throw), but coach just said, ‘just go out there and go for it,’ and that’s what I did.
“To beat my PR (18.34 meters) by almost a foot, it’s just amazing.”
Brueggen found himself sitting in third after the preliminaries, but dropped a spot when UW-Oshkosh’s Tony Baker went 18.72 meters on his final throw to finish third.
“I’m so happy for Andrew,” said SMU coach Shawn McMahon. “I’ve been around a lot of national championships, but not as a head coach — and for Andrew to become SMU’s first (male) All-American, it’s pretty special.”
St. Lawrence’s Eric Jones won the event, uncorking a toss of 19.13 meters, while Sean Larson of UW-Stout (18.89) and Baker (18.72) were the only ones to throw farther than Brueggen.
“It’s hard to put into words how I’m feeling right now,” said Brueggen. “I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and right now it’s just an incredible feeling.”