As the seasons change, people are turning their attention from winter sports to spring sports.
For the ASU track and field team this means trying to carry over the success they saw in indoor track, outdoors.
No Sun Devil had a better indoor season than junior Maggie Ewen, who competed in weight throw and shot put at nationals.
After being ranked 12th for the weight throw, Ewen threw for 20.97 meters March 10 – good enough for sixth place and a spot on the all-American team.
Assistant coach Brian Blutreich said he knew Ewen was relaxed before the meet and was not surprised with her performance in the weight throw, despite her low ranking.
“I knew she was better than that,” Blutreich said. “So it didn’t shock me when she ended up coming in sixth.”
With her 6th-place finish, @MagdalynMaeEwen is the third-ever #ASU female to earn First-Team All-America honors in all four throwing events! pic.twitter.com/10DZtntQdJ
— SunDevilTFXC (@SunDevilTFXC) March 12, 2017
Going into the meet, Blutreich said he expected Ewen to score in both events, and she didn't disappoint.
However, Ewen took a very calm attitude into the meet and treated it like any other competition.
“Either things are really going to come together or they’re not,” Ewen said. “Worrying about it beforehand isn’t really going help you, it’s only going to hurt you.”
Before the meet on the plane ride over Ewen went through her usual pre-meet preparations by watching videos of her best throws to note what went right.
One thing that stood out to Ewen was the way Blutreich complimented her at practice in the week leading up to the meet.
“I got a lot of good positive remarks from him in practice ... slow reassurance throughout the week that built my confidence where I didn’t even feel like I needed to worry going into the meet because I felt pretty good,” Ewen said. “He doesn’t give out compliments often so when he does, they stick with you.”
Blutreich said the strategy for Ewen was to shorten the meet and look at it as a three-throw meet.
They made this decision because an athlete's first three throws will determine whether they will advance to the finals.
“Make it a three-throw meet, not a six-throw meet,” Blutreich said. “Because if you don’t do well in the first three, you’re not going to get three more.”
Ewen executed in both sets of three and enjoyed the performance, saying she did not expect to have such a great indoor track season.
The Sun Devils changed throwing coaches in 2016 after Dave Dumble left the program and was replaced by Blutreich.
"A coaching change is probably going to take a year of getting used to,” Ewen said. “So, the fact that I am throwing so well has just been a blessing, it’s been awesome.”
Ewen said she received congratulatory texts from her teammates shortly after the meet, including one from redshirt freshman Kaylee Antill.
“I told her congratulations afterward,” Antill said. “She said she was happy with how she performed, but of course she wanted more, you’re always trying to win.”
With that in mind, Ewen has turned her attention to spring track, and Antill said she believes Ewen has a shot to return to the NCAA outdoor nationals this season – this time in the hammer throw.
“She’s just blowing that (the hammer throw) out of the park,” Antill said. “So it will just come down to that meet, being able to execute what she knows she can do now.”
Ewen has started the spring season dominating, after she set an American collegiate record in the Baldy Castillo Invitational, the first home meet of the season.
Ewen launched a hammer throw for 72.71 meters March 17, which not only set the American collegiate record, but also broke the ASU and Pac-12 records that she set last year.
The scary thing for competitors is that Ewen is just starting to understand and execute what Blutreich has envisioned for her.
“I’ve barely grasped what Blutreich wants me to do,” Ewen said. "But those kind of small changes that I’ve made have already made a really big impact on my throwing, so I just hope to keep slowly climbing.”
This weekend the Sun Devils compete in the Pac-12 vs. BIG-10 challenge in Tempe and Ewen will be competing in both the hammer throw and discus.
Even though Ewen has had a fast start to the season and is excited to compete, she is not letting the importance of practice and repetition escape her.
“Two weeks worth of just practice is always a beautiful thing that I think is always really underestimated,” Ewen said. “But I’d love the chance to open up and try to throw again this weekend.”
Reach the reporter at jzaklis@gmail.com and follow @JoshZaklis on Twitter.
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