SE: One Throw at a Time, Ashley Petr Begins Road Back to NCAA Championships
Mar 25, 2021 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
She already has the clothes picked out for every kind of weather.
Temperature hovering around freezing? That's three sweatshirts and two pairs of leggings. Colder than that? Ashley Petr has invested in a pair of handwarmers for a reason.
When you're a D1 thrower going to school at Kansas State by way of Hastings, Nebraska, you don't really have time to sit around and wait for the warm weather to arrive.
"Today, I threw out there in the pouring rain," she said. "We most likely would still compete if it was raining and above freezing. That's why I always tell everyone, you know where else it rains? Eugene, Oregon."
Also known as the site of the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Petr is working to return to the biggest stage in her sport – a road back that would, somehow, be almost as improbable as her journey from K-State walk-on to the NCAA Championships.
She took the first step last weekend in San Antonio, winning her debut event in 2021 with a 55.20m/181ft performance in the women's discus. That distance came just a few feet from breaking a PR she set all the way back in 2019, her last full season competing in the event.
The discus is an outdoor-only event – there aren't many buildings on earth where you can throw a metal object almost half a football field – so Petr spent months convincing herself to go outside and practice, even without a track season in sight.
"I just try and think about the end goal and where I want to be," she said. "San Antonio was my first time not being with my family or just here in Manhattan. It was a little different."
The change of scenery didn't slow down Petr or any of the K-State throwers, with plenty of seniors who haven't competed during the indoor season making their return to the Wildcats.
Cameron Lewis, another "super senior" who returned to Manhattan after the outdoor track season was canceled in 2020, won a pair of events at the UTSA Invitational. Lewis swept the men's shot put and men's discus in San Antonio, posting a 51.47m/168ft throw in the discus.
Over in the women's hammer throw, Helene Ingvaldsend grabbed a new PR at 64.75m/212ft to complete a weekend when the K-State "Bomb Squad" was finally back at full strength.
"It's been almost two years now, so we were beyond excited to get out there and compete. We all set our expectations so high for this meet, because our goals kind of stayed the same from last year," Petr said. "I kind of knew everyone was going to do well, just as they did for me."
In a sport where individual training and competing unattached isn't uncommon, Petr finally had the opportunity to put on a K-State uniform again.
When you're competing at an NCAA Championship level in one of the deepest track & field conferences in the country, wearing the Powercat means something a little extra.
"I don't know if other teams in the Big 12 were looking to see how we were going to do, but I was looking to see how those guys were going to do," Petr said. "I really wanted to make sure I went out there and did my best. I didn't want to badly at this first meet so they all think 'Oh, she must have gotten worse during COVID or something.' I didn't want to be that girl."
In short, Petr has worked too hard to get to Manhattan to stop now.
She grinded through an injury that derailed her high school career and began throwing at DII Nebraska-Kearney, putting in the work as a freshman before walking on at K-State in 2017.
Making that jump from the DII level to competing at the NCAA Championships, Petr has enjoyed helping out other aspiring track & field athletes looking to get their start in the sport.
She regularly posts videos on TikTok that cover everything from refueling after a workout to talking with coaches during the recruiting process.
"I was just messing around on there and posted a video of me throwing a hammer that got like 120,000 likes and comments flowing in from high schoolers like 'How do I this?' I kind of went through that same situation," Petr said. "If I can help someone else be better and make their dreams come true, that just makes my day."
When it comes to her own dreams, Petr isn't afraid to keep raising the bar. After a strong start in San Antonio, she's hoping to become a first-team All-American, a Big 12 champion and break the school record in the discus. In the hammer throw, the All-American goal is the same.
"But first-team or second-team, doesn't matter to me," she said.
The spring season will be a three-month sprint to the conference and national meets that define every track athlete's season.
No matter the weather in Manhattan, Petr doesn't plan on wasting a day.
"I try and be my biggest motivator," she said. "The challenges are always going to be there and the expectations for myself are always going to be there. I'm just trying to get better."
She already has the clothes picked out for every kind of weather.
Temperature hovering around freezing? That's three sweatshirts and two pairs of leggings. Colder than that? Ashley Petr has invested in a pair of handwarmers for a reason.
When you're a D1 thrower going to school at Kansas State by way of Hastings, Nebraska, you don't really have time to sit around and wait for the warm weather to arrive.
"Today, I threw out there in the pouring rain," she said. "We most likely would still compete if it was raining and above freezing. That's why I always tell everyone, you know where else it rains? Eugene, Oregon."
Also known as the site of the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Petr is working to return to the biggest stage in her sport – a road back that would, somehow, be almost as improbable as her journey from K-State walk-on to the NCAA Championships.
She took the first step last weekend in San Antonio, winning her debut event in 2021 with a 55.20m/181ft performance in the women's discus. That distance came just a few feet from breaking a PR she set all the way back in 2019, her last full season competing in the event.
The discus is an outdoor-only event – there aren't many buildings on earth where you can throw a metal object almost half a football field – so Petr spent months convincing herself to go outside and practice, even without a track season in sight.
"I just try and think about the end goal and where I want to be," she said. "San Antonio was my first time not being with my family or just here in Manhattan. It was a little different."
The change of scenery didn't slow down Petr or any of the K-State throwers, with plenty of seniors who haven't competed during the indoor season making their return to the Wildcats.
"From a team perspective, this was definitely the best first meet we have ever had." #KStateTF brings the heat on the final day of the UTSA Invitational 🔥🔥https://t.co/U8kHswCtFq
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) March 20, 2021
Cameron Lewis, another "super senior" who returned to Manhattan after the outdoor track season was canceled in 2020, won a pair of events at the UTSA Invitational. Lewis swept the men's shot put and men's discus in San Antonio, posting a 51.47m/168ft throw in the discus.
Over in the women's hammer throw, Helene Ingvaldsend grabbed a new PR at 64.75m/212ft to complete a weekend when the K-State "Bomb Squad" was finally back at full strength.
"It's been almost two years now, so we were beyond excited to get out there and compete. We all set our expectations so high for this meet, because our goals kind of stayed the same from last year," Petr said. "I kind of knew everyone was going to do well, just as they did for me."
In a sport where individual training and competing unattached isn't uncommon, Petr finally had the opportunity to put on a K-State uniform again.
When you're competing at an NCAA Championship level in one of the deepest track & field conferences in the country, wearing the Powercat means something a little extra.
"I don't know if other teams in the Big 12 were looking to see how we were going to do, but I was looking to see how those guys were going to do," Petr said. "I really wanted to make sure I went out there and did my best. I didn't want to badly at this first meet so they all think 'Oh, she must have gotten worse during COVID or something.' I didn't want to be that girl."
In short, Petr has worked too hard to get to Manhattan to stop now.
She grinded through an injury that derailed her high school career and began throwing at DII Nebraska-Kearney, putting in the work as a freshman before walking on at K-State in 2017.
Making that jump from the DII level to competing at the NCAA Championships, Petr has enjoyed helping out other aspiring track & field athletes looking to get their start in the sport.
She regularly posts videos on TikTok that cover everything from refueling after a workout to talking with coaches during the recruiting process.
"I was just messing around on there and posted a video of me throwing a hammer that got like 120,000 likes and comments flowing in from high schoolers like 'How do I this?' I kind of went through that same situation," Petr said. "If I can help someone else be better and make their dreams come true, that just makes my day."
When it comes to her own dreams, Petr isn't afraid to keep raising the bar. After a strong start in San Antonio, she's hoping to become a first-team All-American, a Big 12 champion and break the school record in the discus. In the hammer throw, the All-American goal is the same.
"But first-team or second-team, doesn't matter to me," she said.
The spring season will be a three-month sprint to the conference and national meets that define every track athlete's season.
No matter the weather in Manhattan, Petr doesn't plan on wasting a day.
"I try and be my biggest motivator," she said. "The challenges are always going to be there and the expectations for myself are always going to be there. I'm just trying to get better."
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