Feilzer enters final meet with singular focus

The 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships run Wednesday-Saturday from Austin, Texas. Montana's Hana Feilzer is scheduled to compete in the hammer throw at 3:30 p.m. (MT) on Thursday. Her event can be streamed worldwide on ESPN3.com or the WatchESPN app. The entire NCAA Championships can be watched on ESPN3.com, with parts nationally broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPNU. For a complete broadcast schedule, click here.

AUSTIN, Texas – While Hana Feilzer will leave Montana as one of the school's all-time best throwers, when she arrived in 2014, she was equally known for her ability in the high jump.

During her first indoor season, the Missoula native performed in the high jump in all six meets she competed in, finishing as high as third in a meet. She didn't try the weight throw – an event she would end up winning a conference title in – until the end of the season.

During her freshman outdoor season, Feilzer continued to do the high jump, in addition to a variety of throwing events. After starting her career in the 140s for the hammer throw, by the end of that spring, she had surpassed 175 feet, finishing ninth at the Big Sky Championship.

She never competed in the high jump again.

"At first I didn't want to throw, but Brian (Schweyen) had me try it," Feilzer recalled. "After my freshman year, he told me I was going to be an All-American in the hammer throw, and since then, I've been shooting for that."

Feilzer will get her long-awaited opportunity this week in Austin, Texas, where she will compete alongside 23 of the nation's best hammer throwers at the NCAA Championships. It marks the first time in school history that a Montana athlete has qualified for nationals in the hammer throw, and the first time any Grizzly has reached the sport's highest stage since 2015.

"I've spent the past several seasons trying to get to this point, and now it's here," Feilzer said on Tuesday, following her first workout at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas. "It's a dream to be in this position and to have an opportunity to become an All-American."

To get to this point, Feilzer had to finish in the top 12 at the NCAA West Regional last month in Sacramento, California. She did so, placing ninth. To get to that point, she had to rank in the top 48 of this side of the country, something she easily did with a season-best throw of 209-10. That mark came at the Big Sky Championships earlier in May, where she not only won a second Big Sky title in the event but also smashed her own school record – twice.

Feilzer has accomplished plenty during her illustrious career. She's scored at conference in three separate events, winning individual titles in the weight throw (2019) and hammer throw (2017 and 2019). She holds school records in both of those events, the latter ranking in the top five in Big Sky Conference history. She's been named the Big Sky Athlete of the Week seven times in her career, more than any UM athlete ever, and has earned academic letters every semester.

She had previously qualified for NCAA Regionals in 2016 and 2017 – before redshirting in 2018 – but finally broke through this spring with a ninth-place finish out of 48 throwers.

Based off of her top throw from regionals (203-1), Feilzer is seeded 18^th out of 24 throwers entering nationals. The top eight earn first-team All-America recognition, with the next eight being named to the second team.

While not seeded particularly high, her throws coach, David Paul, is confident in Feilzer's abilities. In her three meets prior to regionals, she reached a distance that would rank among the top 16 each time. Her school-record throw of 209-10, set less than a month ago, would rank ninth.

"The great thing for Hana is she doesn't have to do anything she hasn't done before," Paul said. "She doesn't have to break a record or have an out-worldly throw, she simply has to do what she's done before."

A year ago at the Championships, a throw of 208-5 was needed to earn first-team recognition, 199-11 to achieve second-team status. Feilzer has surpassed 200 feet in every meet since mid-April.

Since qualifying on May 23, much of Feilzer's training has been on small technical aspects – things like the positioning of her throwing wrist or staying down longer on her right leg. However, even more emphasis has been spent on the mental side of things.

"We've talked about what the meet might feel like and how she might handle certain situations," Paul said. "At this meet, you want to compete, but what I told Hana is it's really about keeping your composure and being ready to throw and not be distracted by what's going on."

Feilzer echoed her coaches' thoughts: "Being at nationals is new territory for me, so I'm trying to focus on me and only me. If I start worrying about other people in my flight, or in another flight, I'm going to get in my head. If I sit there and relax, I think I can reach my goals."

While Feilzer has grown as a competitor and thrower over her five-year career, according to her coaches, she's always had the 'it' factor in her.

"She moves the ball well, she has long levers and a good amount of power," Paul described. "She's developed, sure, but Hana is just the type of person who is able to figure things out. She has a good understanding of how to do something on a simple level, and then she just goes and does it."

Schweyen – also an All-American during his collegiate days – predicted that Feilzer would someday be in this position. Now, just days before her biggest – and final – collegiate meet, he still believes Feilzer's chances of reaching her dream are strong.

"I think Hana is ready," Schweyen said. "She's prepared and focused, and I think she's determined to go out and have a fantastic meet, and I think because of how she's prepared, she will go out and have a great meet."

As for the thrower herself?

"I'm really excited to finally be here and to compete at this level," Feilzer said. "I'm coming in excited, but I have a job to do. I get to have fun when I'm done. I came here to be an All-American."

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Hana Feilzer

University of Montana Athletics