Knoch grad Geist third at NCAA Division I nationals
AUSTIN, Texas — Jordan Geist entered the NCAA Division I track and field championships Wednesday night looking to improve upon his fifth-place finish in the shot put as a freshman last year.
Geist succeeded.
With a throw of 66 feet, 7¾ inches, the Knoch graduate and sophomore at the University of Arizona placed third.
Adrian Piperi of Texas won the national title with a personal-best throw 69-3¼.
For Geist, the national championships wasn't about the physical.
Geist knew the tools were there. He was bigger. Stronger. More technically sound.
For Geist, the championships were all mental.
“I'm competing against myself,” Geist said earlier Wednesday. “If I start worrying about what the other people are throwing, I'm going to rush and try to muscle my throws and then bad things will happen.”
Geist entered the meet with the farthest throw in the country at 70-10.
