There is a common denominator for Monmouth College at this year's NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, which begin Friday in Rochester, New York. In fact, it's been a common denominator for nearly a decade on the men's side, and the decade prior to that for the women.
For the seventh time since 2017 - and keep in mind, there was no indoor track season in 2021 - the Fighting Scots are sending at least one weight thrower to the national meet. And this year, for only the second time in program history, Monmouth is actually sending three of them - Shane Anderson of Lisle, Illinois, and Caleb Toberman of Clifton, Illinois, on the men's side and Maddie Boley of Beecher, Illinois, from the women's team.
The senior trio, who'll compete in the weight throw Friday at the Golisano Training Center at Nazareth University, all have interesting backstories. Boley is the first Scots female thrower to qualify for indoor nationals since Raven Robinson in 2014, which capped an eight-year run of Monmouth sending a women's thrower to the indoor championships. The multi-event qualifier, who will also compete Saturday in the shot put, ranks seventh nationally in the weight throw and 14th in the shot.
Anderson will enter the meet ranked second in the weight throw, fresh off his school record heave of an even 20 meters (65'7-1/4) at Saturday's Wartburg Last Chance Qualifier. A year ago, he sustained an injury during warmups at the NCAA indoor meet and fell short of All-American honors. He said earning a national medal is his focus, with his "stretch goal" being a national championship.
Toberman will be making his third straight NCAA indoor appearance, although an ankle injury he sustained in late February is still a concern. Like Boley, he has also qualified in the shot put, where he's ranked 13th. He sits 12th in the weight throw.
Coaching 'em up
The common denominator to the common denominator is Monmouth head coach Brian Woodard, who's been leading the Scots' throwers for nearly three decades. Woodard, who took over for legendary coach Roger Haynes prior to the 2023 season, has high praise for his standout trio.
"What I'm proudest of with them is the standard they've set for the kids underneath them," he said. "The things they do and the example they set trickle down through the other throwers and all through the team."
As an example, said Woodard, "The kids realize what Caleb did for the team at the (Midwest) conference meet, competing on one leg." Toberman battled through pain to score a valuable 11 points in the weight throw and shot put, keeping Monmouth in the hunt for the team title.
The throwers recognize that they have a knowledgeable, passionate leader in Woodard.
"It feels like the weight throw is his favorite event," said Toberman. "It seems like he really likes to coach it. In our state, in our region, Coach Woodard is one of the best coaches you'll see."
"He'll make sure you know what you're doing wrong," said Anderson. "He has high expectations for us - it's a very high bar. But when you're doing something well, he'll let you know that, too."
"He does a really good job of training us - nothing's wasted," said Boley. "And he really cares for his athletes. He's everyone's No. 1 supporter."
Tricks of the trade
A chief aspect of Woodard's training "to-do" list is increasing his throwers' explosiveness. That attribute is key for sprinters, too, but they have 60, 100 or 200 meters to make up for a less than explosive start. For throwers, there's just one opportunity to "explode," so they need to harness that energy and release it all at just the right moment and with the right technique.
As baseball fans know, launch angle is important. If the angle of a batted ball is too high, it's a pop-up on the infield. Too low, and it might be a sweet line drive, but it likely won't have the juice to make it over the outfield fence. If a home run is your desired result, the sweet spot is a launch angle in the 25- to 35-degree range.
For his weight throwers, Woodard has fine-tuned the range even more, calling 38-40 degrees the ideal target. The school record holder in the event is also the poster child for when that launch angle is off kilter.
"When I was a freshman, I threw the ball so high I dented the top of our cage," said Anderson, who did similar damage to the overhang at a meet at St. Ambrose University.
"If the launch is too shallow, the ball's not going to go far," said Woodard, "and if it's too high, the ball's not going to go far. You're looking for that happy medium."
Another sport that has an element of the weight throw is golf. Standing over a shot on the course, many golfers have a single "swing thought" in mind in the moments before their club impacts the ball, perhaps focusing on keeping their head down, not gripping the club too tightly or even as specific as the position of their inside elbow.
Monmouth's top throwers have a similar experience. When he's standing in the ring, Anderson focuses on "keeping my arms as long and loose as possible."
Woodard agrees, saying a big key is to "let the ball lead. Let the ball do the work. The body has to do significant work to catch up if that's not done well. And you want to keep your arms long and loose."
Boley simply tries to implement whatever cue she's received from Woodard, with "push the ball to the left" being an example. "You want to push it out and stay long," she said.
Woodard agrees with that, too, saying the weight throw is essentially "a pushing motion, not a pulling one. Pulling slows it down and puts you off balance and, of course, balance is key in this event."
That ball, by the way, is 35 pounds for the men and 20 for the women. At least it's not the 56-pound monster that was present at the 1904 and 1920 Olympics.
Toberman's "throw thought" is to not have any thoughts at all, relying on muscle memory from all the throws he's made over his competitive career.
"The more I think about it, the less far I throw it," said Toberman. "So when it comes to the mental side of things, I'm just focusing on letting my body do its thing."
Peak performances
Speaking of making lots of throws, the Scots trio was asked if they've ever thrown a PR in practice.
"Oh, yeah," said Boley. "It happens all the time. It's really easy to get in a flow at practice."
"It's just the amount of throws you get in practice," agreed Toberman. "You only get six throws at a meet, but we get in about 30 throws in a practice."
Simply put, the odds are in their favor to PR outside of competition, but Anderson did credit the presence of meet adrenaline for his Monmouth record throw at Wartburg.
"A lot of guys in front of me had PR'd pretty big," he said of his competitors' efforts at the last chance meet. "The energy was kind of high. I don't think I've ever thrown 20 meters in practice."
Anderson "has never had a bad meet all year long," said Woodard, who's impressed by the 6-foot-7 senior's ability to bunch big throws together. The coach called Anderson's MWC meet performance "fantastic," as five of his six throws were 19 meters (62 feet, 4 inches) or farther, including his then-PR of 64'2-1/2. Anderson won the event, and Boley took both the weight throw and shot put titles, earning the league's Field Performer of the Year honor.
"They've all got an opportunity to be successful," said Woodard of nationals. "They've done everything I could ask them to do, but I think they have a little more in them. I don't think they've had their best throws yet."
It's a weighty subject, but as the three seniors prepare to launch the ball a final time in their college careers, it's a subject in which they've been well-schooled. Anderson and Toberman will put their knowledge and training to the test at 8 a.m. Central time Friday, while Boley throws at 1:30 p.m.
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