60 // VARSITY March 20, 2014
INSIDE
MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Throwing down: Lihrman
captures NCAA title
Junior earns UW's first individual crown since 2007
BY AJ HARRISON @BADGER_TRACK
T
he world leader in
the weight throw, Mi-
chael Lihrman capped
off his junior indoor season
with a bang by winning the
men's weight throw at the
2014 NCAA Indoor Champi-
onships last Friday, becoming
UW's 13th individual national
champion and the first since
Chris Solinsky won the 5000
meters in 2007.
Like many of the meets
he's competed at this year, Li-
hrman, a Rice Lake, Wis., na-
tive, dominated the competi-
tion by posting five of the top
six overall marks in the event.
The Albuquerque Conven-
tion Center, host of the NCAA
indoor meet, was a familiar
venue to the Wisconsin junior,
as Lihrman initially shattered
UW's weight throw school
record at the 2013 USA Indoor Track &
Field Championships.
With the NCAA individual crown, Li-
hrman joined elite company at Wiscon-
sin, becoming only the second Badger to
win a field event title indoors. Pat Matz-
dorf, the former world record-holder in
the high jump, won the individual title in
1971.
Lihrman won every meet he competed
in this year and broke his own school
record four times during the indoor sea-
son, setting the NCAA Division I record of
79 feet, 7 1/2 inches along the way.
Wisconsin assistant coach Dave As-
trauskas, who oversees UW's throwers,
believes Lihrman's technique is what
helps make him excel in the event.
"It's his understanding of the event,"
Astrauskas said. "He has a great feel for
body position and adjusting to what he
needs to do on each throw."
With the outdoor season right around
the corner, Lihrman will turn his focus to
the hammer throw as the Badgers open
up the season at the Walt Disney Open
this weekend in Orlando, Fla.
As he reflected on a record-setting in-
door season, Lihrman already has a ma-
jor goal on the horizon for the 2015 in-
door campaign.
"I never expected to come this far this
fast," Lihrman said. "I keep waiting for
my plateau and I've never hit it yet. Who
knows what's coming up.
"I'm thinking I'm going for the world
record next year."
SCHEDULE
LAST WEEK
NCAA Championships 11th, 17 pts.
THIS WEEK
Friday Walt Disney Open All Day
Saturday Walt Disney Open All Day
