By Edward Burnette
Maggie Ewen of Arizona State has frequently been in the winner’s circle since she entered the sport of collegiate track and field. She continued her dominant ways in Eugene on Thursday as she won the shot put at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Ewen quickly grabbed the top spot on her second throw of the event with a mark of 62 feet, 10 ¾ inches. The throw opened up a lead on the other athletes, ensuring that everyone else in the competition had to play catch-up.
“It puts you in that comfortable place,” Ewen said, “in that confident mindset of we can just go have fun and attack it. No reservations.”
While no athletes would catch Ewen, Jessica Woodard of Oklahoma came close on her fifth throw when she set a new personal best of 61-3 ½.
“It feels great,” said Woodard. “Obviously, PRs are good, but I just need to stay consistent in my training and just go for it.”
Woodard also felt confident after her second-place finish because of her previous performances in meets. “It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “I’ve had a couple big fouls the last couple of meets, so you know what they say — third time’s a charm. And this is my third meet, and it came all together.”
The performance capped Ewen’s remarkable career at ASU. She set a new collegiate record in the shot put on April 28 with a mark of 63-10 ¼. While she didn’t reach that on Thursday, Ewen did win her third NCAA championship, joining her wins in the hammer throw at the 2017 NCAA outdoors in shot put at the 2018 NCAA indoors. She also finished as a finalist for the Bowerman Award last year and is hoping this year to become the first thrower to win the award.
Even with all her accomplishments, Ewen worked to get her mind right coming into the competition. She had failed to qualify for NCAAs in the hammer throw, an event she won last year.
“It’s one of those double-edged swords where I would’ve loved to be here, loved to have done it,” said Ewen. “But now I can invest that energy in to two events instead of three and try to make these two go very well.”
For now, her strategy is working. She will be competing in the discus on Saturday as she goes for her fourth overall NCAA title.
