Kerri McClung walks around BGSU’s Perry Field House with a smile on her face, showing no signs of her impending task. That task is to throw the shot put as far as she possibly can, day after day, a task that she has consistently accomplished throughout the indoor season of track and field.
Her competitors might glance at her, wondering why she’s smiling and calm when she is ranked first in the shot put in the MAC conference.
People ask her if she is ready to compete. She has an unbelievable ability to be laid back in the middle of competition. When most athletes get ready for competition, they turn to seclusion or their portable CD player. Not this one. She probably intimidates her competitors by being her calm, cool, and collected self.
McClung is only a sophomore, but she has already provisionally qualified for the NCAA national championship meet in her event, the shot put. She has won the event at the BGSU Invitational, the Central Collegiate Championships, and the Rod McCravey Memorial. Among her accolades, she threw over 50 feet for the first time in her competitive career at the All Ohio Championships two weekends ago. Not bad for a girl who, while attending high school in Indiana, used to tell herself that she would be content with her throwing career if she ever reached the 50-foot mark. She never anticipated a shot put exceeding the mark.
After successful high school basketball and track and field careers, she decided to focus solely on her throwing talent. McClung had been plagued by injuries throughout her career. Three knee surgeries later, she realizes that she can throw even further and has much more to accomplish in her young career. She’s setting more goals for herself.
“I want to go to nationals in indoor and outdoor track,” she says. She has seven seasons left to accomplish those goals, which seem modest considering where she is right now.
While others might try to hide or deny flaws in their technique in track and field and many other sports, McClung embraces her flaws. She knows that there is room for improvement within her throws. “The good thing about it is that within my technique there are still things I’m doing wrong,” she says. Her optimistic approach to having flaws is impressive.
She knows that she can always get quicker and stronger, and she doesn’t know where the limit is for her. McClung’s coach, Scott Sehmann, does not know where the future will take his sophomore thrower, but he does know what she is capable of.
“I’d like to think that Kerri would have the opportunity to go to the NCAA meet, whether it be next year or in the near future. I think she will achieve multiple conference championships in the shot put and potentially another event along the way. She could possibly leave Bowling Green with school records in the shot put both indoors and outdoors.”
McClung is ranked first in the MAC prior to this weekend’s championship. While a first place ranking is a tremendous accolade, McClung realizes the pressure that goes with it. She would like to win the shot put, but more than anything, she would like to improve her distance and possibly earn an automatic NCAA qualifying bid.
Whatever the outcome of this weekend’s meet, McClung still has a provisional qualifying throw of over 50 feet, which already has a good shot of taking her to the national championships. If she continues to exceed her own expectations, there might be no a stopping point for Kerri McClung.
