Kansas State University Athletics
SE: She’s Back – Petr Chasing NCAA, Olympic Dreams in Second Shot at Senior Season
Jun 19, 2020 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Ashley Petr still doesn't know how good she can be. It's what made the decision to return to K-State "a no-brainer" after her senior outdoor track season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Throughout a college career that's proved more than a few people wrong, it's become pretty clear that there's only one person who gets to decide how much Petr can achieve.
"It's that unknown that gets me excited, because I just have no idea at this point," she said. "I have another year to get better and there's so much more room to grow and make it happen."
Petr capped off her last outdoor season at K-State as the Big 12 runner-up in the discus and made an appearance at her first NCAA Championships in 2019. With the outdoor-only discus as her main event, Petr used her senior indoor season to focus on the weight throw and shot put.
"I wish the weight throw would have gone a little better. It wasn't quite what I hoped, but the shot put I just threw in this year, so I was overwhelmed with joy at how I did in that," Petr said. "But not really achieving my goals in the weight throw, that kind of made me want to get that much better for the outdoor season."
Of course, the rest of her senior track season was wiped out in March, and Petr had a decision to make about her future at K-State. It turned out to be an easy one.
"My expectations haven't changed because I had huge goals for this year," she said. "They're just even bigger now because I can set the bar that much higher."
This spring isn't the first time Petr has been forced to change her plans after a lost season.
A promising high school career in Hastings, Nebraska was cut short during her senior season, when Petr was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome – a painful condition that compressed the blood vessels around her neck, requiring surgery and months of physical therapy.
Petr only competed at one meet as a senior and "did absolutely horrible." The lost season limited her options at the NCAA level, and she began her career at Division II Nebraska-Kearney.
"It's kind of the same situation this year as in high school," Petr said. "I'm like, 'Well, this is nothing new.' I'm kind of used to it."
She made the move to K-State as a sophomore, focused on academics more than track, but decided to walk on to the team after a conversation with assistant coach Greg Watson.
All Petr has done since then is become one of the nation's best in the discus, capped off by a trip to the 2019 NCAA Championships.
With a season in Manhattan that she didn't expect to have, Petr is focused on raising her expectations once again, from Division II athlete, to K-State walk-on, to Olympic hopeful.
"To be honest, I didn't know if I was completely ready for the Olympic level this year, so I thought I would have to wait another four years," she said. "With another year, I definitely think I can make it happen."
Petr said she is viewing the 2020-21 season as something like a redshirt year, which she never had after arriving at K-State as a sophomore.
Her first season in Manhattan was a successful one, as Petr qualified for NCAA Regionals in the discus, but many of her competitors had an extra year of experience.
"Everyone usually takes that redshirt year," she said. "I was a normal fourth-year doing my very best and trying to compete at a super-elite level. That extra time is really going to help me out."
After such a sudden end to her senior season, Petr said she wasn't sure what to do after realizing she was about to go over a year without throwing the discus in competition.
It turns out, after spending last summer preparing for what she thought would be her final season at K-State, tapping back in to that mentality is the easy part.
"Last summer, I made sure that I wasn't going to fail during that season. I think that's why I had a pretty good indoor season," Petr said. "I've been training hard."
After graduating from K-State in the spring with a major in animal science, Petr said she plans to earn her meat science certificate this year while thinking about her graduate school options.
Until then, Petr has her eyes set on a Big 12 crown in the discus and a return to the NCAA Championships, with a trip to the Summer Olympics on the horizon.
But before she can accomplish those goals, Petr said she's excited to get back to the same thing that's been driving her since she decided to walk-on at K-State only three years ago.
"I miss school, I miss my teammates and when I think about not throwing the discus in a meet in over a year, I miss competing," she said. "That's my favorite thing in the whole, wide world."
Ashley Petr still doesn't know how good she can be. It's what made the decision to return to K-State "a no-brainer" after her senior outdoor track season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Throughout a college career that's proved more than a few people wrong, it's become pretty clear that there's only one person who gets to decide how much Petr can achieve.
"It's that unknown that gets me excited, because I just have no idea at this point," she said. "I have another year to get better and there's so much more room to grow and make it happen."
Petr capped off her last outdoor season at K-State as the Big 12 runner-up in the discus and made an appearance at her first NCAA Championships in 2019. With the outdoor-only discus as her main event, Petr used her senior indoor season to focus on the weight throw and shot put.
"I wish the weight throw would have gone a little better. It wasn't quite what I hoped, but the shot put I just threw in this year, so I was overwhelmed with joy at how I did in that," Petr said. "But not really achieving my goals in the weight throw, that kind of made me want to get that much better for the outdoor season."
Of course, the rest of her senior track season was wiped out in March, and Petr had a decision to make about her future at K-State. It turned out to be an easy one.
"My expectations haven't changed because I had huge goals for this year," she said. "They're just even bigger now because I can set the bar that much higher."
This spring isn't the first time Petr has been forced to change her plans after a lost season.
A promising high school career in Hastings, Nebraska was cut short during her senior season, when Petr was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome – a painful condition that compressed the blood vessels around her neck, requiring surgery and months of physical therapy.
Petr only competed at one meet as a senior and "did absolutely horrible." The lost season limited her options at the NCAA level, and she began her career at Division II Nebraska-Kearney.
"It's kind of the same situation this year as in high school," Petr said. "I'm like, 'Well, this is nothing new.' I'm kind of used to it."
She made the move to K-State as a sophomore, focused on academics more than track, but decided to walk on to the team after a conversation with assistant coach Greg Watson.
All Petr has done since then is become one of the nation's best in the discus, capped off by a trip to the 2019 NCAA Championships.
With a season in Manhattan that she didn't expect to have, Petr is focused on raising her expectations once again, from Division II athlete, to K-State walk-on, to Olympic hopeful.
"To be honest, I didn't know if I was completely ready for the Olympic level this year, so I thought I would have to wait another four years," she said. "With another year, I definitely think I can make it happen."
Petr said she is viewing the 2020-21 season as something like a redshirt year, which she never had after arriving at K-State as a sophomore.
Her first season in Manhattan was a successful one, as Petr qualified for NCAA Regionals in the discus, but many of her competitors had an extra year of experience.
"Everyone usually takes that redshirt year," she said. "I was a normal fourth-year doing my very best and trying to compete at a super-elite level. That extra time is really going to help me out."
After such a sudden end to her senior season, Petr said she wasn't sure what to do after realizing she was about to go over a year without throwing the discus in competition.
It turns out, after spending last summer preparing for what she thought would be her final season at K-State, tapping back in to that mentality is the easy part.
"Last summer, I made sure that I wasn't going to fail during that season. I think that's why I had a pretty good indoor season," Petr said. "I've been training hard."
After graduating from K-State in the spring with a major in animal science, Petr said she plans to earn her meat science certificate this year while thinking about her graduate school options.
Until then, Petr has her eyes set on a Big 12 crown in the discus and a return to the NCAA Championships, with a trip to the Summer Olympics on the horizon.
But before she can accomplish those goals, Petr said she's excited to get back to the same thing that's been driving her since she decided to walk-on at K-State only three years ago.
"I miss school, I miss my teammates and when I think about not throwing the discus in a meet in over a year, I miss competing," she said. "That's my favorite thing in the whole, wide world."
Players Mentioned
/ Track & Field
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