Ultimate goal: Karsjens claims discus title

By: 
Kristi Nixon

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DES MOINES -- Nathan Karsjens already had the Class 1A state discus title in hand, but he had one more chance to throw, so he went farther to cap off his career for AGWSR on Friday, May 19.

 

Karsjens threw 169 feet, 11 inches to clinch the title, even though he had the title by one foot.

 

"Knowing going in (to my last throw) I knew whether I was going to win or not," Karsjens said, "and all the pressure was off so all I had to do was throw as hard as I could to improve on my last one.

 

"Last year, second place was a goal. The title was out of reach with (N-K state champion) Tom Yezek but knowing that I wanted to come back and win was definitely a goal."

 

Reflecting on the fact that he and his teammate Caleb Meinders both went out with a state title in the throws, Karsjens said that was wild. The duo momentarily had the Cougars in second place in Class 1A after their respective performances.

 

"Caleb and I, that was crazy," Karsjens said. "We complement each other well. He's hard-working and gifted, so he gives me a lot of tips and I give him a lot of tips. It's always great to have a teammate down here and he gets first in the shot and I get first in the discus."

 

And Karsjens followed up a personal best in the shot put the day before to finish third, giving him confidence for the title in the discus on Friday.

 

"Knowing the way I threw yesterday, I knew I could do that again today," Karsjens said. "Knowing I PR'ed by four-ish feet, I wanted to do that here, but the weather was kind of iffy. I got a good throw in and I won."

 

Karsjens will play football at Western Illinois University, but after winning the state discus title, he said he might also throw for the Leathernecks.

 

"It's the ultimate goal," Karsjens said of winning the title. "I always wanted to win a state championship. I wanted to win one in basketball the most, but to get one, is a reallly good feeling."

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