Semoball

SEMO athlete takes next step towards NCAA championship

Southeast Missouri State senior Logan Blomquist competes in the Hammer event at the recent Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships at Murray State University in Murray, Ky.
Courtesy of Murray State University Athletics

Southeast Missouri State fifth-year senior Logan Blomquist has poured his heart and soul into being the best collegiate Hammer thrower in the country this spring and on Wednesday, he took a BIG step in that direction.

Blomquist unleashed an impressive toss of 229 feet, 4 inches, and won the NCAA West Preliminary championship at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

“His confidence comes from knowing the preparation that he has put in,” veteran Redhawk track and field coach Eric Crumpecker said. “In track and field, there is a confidence that comes with knowing that you have put the work in.”

Crumpecker said that “no one has worked harder” than Blomquist over the past five seasons.

He will now represent SEMO at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the University of Oregon next month, which will be the second time (also doing so in 2019) he will have achieved that feat.

Blomquist had three throws on Wednesday and each one was an improvement over the previous throw.

He opened with a throw of 227 feet, 5 inches, before gaining one inch on his second throw.

He closed the meet with his best toss yet.

“He has always said that he doesn’t want anyone to be able to say that they outworked him,” Crumpecker said.

That drive has been evident since he arrived in Cape Girardeau in 2017 after winning MSHSAA state championships in both the Shot Put and Discus at Pleasant Hill High School.

Blomquist is the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Male Field Athlete of the Year after winning both the Shot Put and Hammer at the recent OVC Outdoor Championships and played a huge role in leading the Redhawks to the team championship.

Though he has excelled at all four throwing events (he competes in the Weight Throw during the Indoor season) throughout his career (Blomquist has seven OVC individual titles), Crumpecker said he has focused on improving his performance in the Hammer.

“I don’t know if there is anyone in the country who has worked harder in the Hammer,” Crumpecker said.

In the recent OVC Outdoor Championships, Blomquist hurled the Hammer 237 feet, 3 inches, which was more than 40 feet further than his teammates, Dylan Clark and Marshall Swadley, who finished second and third, respectively.

That throw set an OVC Meet record, while his throw (240 feet, 1 inch) a week earlier at the Memphis Tiger Invitational set a new SEMO mark. That distance converts to 73.18 meters and no other NCAA athlete has thrown over 73 meters this season.

“He has eaten, slept, and breathed the Hammer for the past couple of years,” Crumpecker said. “So, it has paid off for him.”

The winner of the East Preliminary was University of Florida senior Thomas Mardal, who registered a throw of 233 feet, 10 inches.

Other Redhawks fare well

SEMO sophomore Luke Hatfield-Jackson took 17th in the long jump at the West Preliminary on Wednesday.

He leaped a distance of 24 feet, 10 inches, and ranked 27th in the NCAA West Region for the event with a mark of 24-11.75 entering the meet.

Hatfield-Jackson holds the SEMO program record with a feat of 25-8 ¼ set last year.

He will compete in the high jump today.

Former Jackson High School standout Nicole Humphreys and her Redhawk teammate, Marysa Flieg each competed at the West Preliminary on Thursday.

Humphreys placed 18th in the Hammer with a throw of 198 feet, 11 inches, while Flieg competed in the Javelin.

She recently was named as the Ohio Valley Conference Female Co-Field Athlete of the Year at the OVC Outdoor Championships and opened Thursday’s meet with throws of 196 feet, 11 inches, and 198 feet, 4 inches.

Flieg placed 33rd out of 48 athletes with a throw of 144 feet, 7 inches.

The freshman from Ste. Genevieve opened the meet with a throw of 137 feet, 5 inches.

Her PR this season was 161 feet, 4 inches, which ranks third in SEMO history.

The top 12 performers in each event advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

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