Building a National Reputation
Rams’ women stack up well in championship ring
Mike Brohard
In certain situations, the mind tells the body how it should react, then the person has to decide what to do which such intrusive thoughts.
Judging from Klaire Kovatch’s play acting – and the response from teammates Mya Lesnar and Kajsa Borrman – it’s a good thing she held them at bay.
“I was walking into regionals to go throw in the last flight and this little old guy, a volunteer said, ‘ah, Colorado State.’ He wasn’t saying it to me, just out loud,” Kovatch recalled. “I was like, that’s right, you know who we are. I was preening a little bit.”
It was at this point where she added a flip of the hair, some batting of the eyelashes and a coyish grin. Those actions took Borrman and Lesnar to immediate regret – some personal, some for Kovatch – hoping she didn’t actually.
She did hold back, but the volunteer’s statement was still noteworthy.
“I’m standing next to Texas Tech and Cal,” she said, “and they’re looking at Colorado State because they know we’re good.”
The country certainly does, especially when it comes to the circle. In the past three NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships (2025 included), no women’s program has qualified more participants in the discus, hammer throw and shot put than the Rams’ 11. Florida (10) is the only other school in double figures.
Not just do the Rams go, but they come back with hardware. Of the eight qualifications from the prior two meets, Colorado State’s throwers have earned All-America recognition six times, four of them first-team honors. Only Oregon with seven has more.
“That’s a good thing. It makes it easier for recruiting,” said the program’s architect, Brian Bedard, who stands as Colorado State’s head track and field coach. “If a recruit does any research, they know we have a pretty good history. The recruiting process is pretty easy for me to send articles or social media items where our athletes have done some things in the past, and I think it reassures them we have a quality program here and the same old coach has been here for a long time.
“That’s part of it too. You have the consistency there, you build a certain sort of culture, you know what to recruit, how to recruit, what kind of kids you want to bring in. Then it starts to self-perpetuate with some maintenance along the way.”
Colorado State will have a representative in each ring this meet at Hayward Field when women’s competition begins in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday. Borrman will throw the hammer (2:30 p.m. MT) and Lesnar will throw the shot put (7:10 p.m.). Saturday, Kovatch will compete in the discus (1:30 p.m.).
Since the 2000 season (Bedard has been the throws coach since 1988, CSU’s head coach since 2006), the Rams have qualified for the women’s NCAA Outdoor meet in 27 throwing events, with 19 All-America honors (11 first team) and one national champion – Loree Smith in the hammer throw in 2005). The men haven’t been left out: 26 appearances, 15 All-Americans.
This is the expectation in the Colorado State throws group, and it has been for quite some time. If that’s not your personal goal, this might not be the best fit.
“That’s why you have goals. Anything is possible, but we don’t sit down with people and say this should be your goal,” said Lesnar, who enters her competition with the nation’s top throw of 19.6 meters, the school record. “People who are here want to be here, and if they don’t, it’s clear. And they’re gone. Why would you put in all the time, effort, sweat and tears if this is not what you want to do? That seems crazy to me, that you would want to work this hard and not have a hefty goal.”
There is an expectation wearing this uniform.Mya Lesnar
The constant is Bedard, though his coaching arc is much like those of his throwers – a process. He is not the same coach as the one who started. His style has changed. His ability to read people has evolved.
Though more than two decades, he’s found a formula which works for him by treating each of this throwers as the individuals they are. It has helped him figure out the throw or throws which are not only best suited to them, but to help them achieve an elite level.
“I think as a young coach I tried to impact the outcome a lot more in the bigger meets, and a lot of it is nervousness and excitement, maybe thinking my role was bigger than it actual was at that point,” he said. “I tried to be aggressive with my coaching and technical changes in the fall and early season, then once we start get in midseason, the athlete and I should have really decided on what cues work best for them and latch onto those for the rest of the season. Maybe its two or three things we’re really working on and kind of let the rest go and let them be an athlete and simplify things.”
It is a process. He said this day and age has brough about the idea if immediate success, and some young throwers look at established ones in the program and wonder why they aren’t there. The simple answer from Bedard is they are seeing a final product, not the steps taken along the path.
Some of them are on him. He explains there are a multitude of cues in a throw, but he’s found a few which he believes take priority. Get those down, the rest – some of them being more stylistic – can come later. He watches footwork and studies body type and motion. It could be the ability to be patient in the storm.
A key is having the thrower take ownership. Of how they honestly feel and what works. What brings comfort. Once those answers come freely, the real work can begin, the next level attained.
“I don’t think we really clicked on what I needed until this year,” Kovatch said, ranking 16th in the country at 57.92 meters (ranking seventh at CSU) as she enters the field. “All the sudden, he just really saw I was doing this, he’d been trying to get me to do something else, but my body wants to do this, so he ran with it. He was open to doing something new with me. I appreciated he was willing to do that, so I jumped on board. If you see this and know my body type and the way I move, let’s try it and it’s working great.”
Each person is as different as their throws, even their approach to the throw and competition. While they all strive for success, there is an individual blueprint to follow. Lesnar will lift differently in the weight room than others. It doesn’t make her special, it’s just what she requires. It’s part of Bedard’s formula, which strength and conditioning coach Adam Parsons believes in and executes.
They all approach competition in varied ways, and Bedard takes those personalities into account while developing the mental side. What they all believe is he cares more for the person than the competitor, the perfect launching point for reaching their goals.
“I think he’s really good at reading people and having different ways of coaching each person. He caters to them,” Borrman said, ranking 15th in the country (67.27 meters) and second at CSU. “He can tell. He’s been around the sport so long, and if a new freshman comes in and throws the hammer, he can say that’s going to go well or not go good at all. He definitely will have you try all of them, and he has such a good eye of working with somebody and seeing what they’re capable of. The way he interacts with everyone is so different, and you can work together with him to find your thing. Again, it’s different for everybody.
“I think he cares more way more about how you’re doing as a person than an athlete. The fact he can bundle it all together really builds character and builds a person up. Even outside of competition he cares more about how you’re doing personally – if you’re upset, if you’re overwhelmed, if you’re busy – he takes care of you rather than taking care of one of his athletes. He views you as more than that. When it comes to competition, he brings it together, but there’s tough love there too. There’s a fine balance. He knows each person, what they need and brings it all together.”
With both of her parents Hall of Fame disciples of Bedard (her father, Mattias, is now an assistant throws coach), Borrman understood what the throws program represented when she signed three years ago. What she hadn’t seen was the day to day, nor has she fully felt the effect of the culture which has been built.
When Bedard signs an athlete, he lays it out for them. He can tell them the basis of finding joy in the work and the competition, but they have to get their own directions.
“I think if somebody came in and told me what I should expect, I wouldn’t appreciate that. It doesn’t matter how old you are, anybody can have an influence on this team and set an example,” Borrman said. “For me it was about finding parts of people, characteristics I liked, some things I was learning from and didn’t want to do that or be that. So, I took everybody on the team and picked and chose what I liked to define my experience and give back. I don’t think any one person has the exact same experience on this team, but it’s important you can all work together, get along and be respectful. It’s about finding a good way to communicate with everybody and have fun but also stay focused. I had a lot of people show me what to do and what no to do.”
They explain it as learned behavior more than instructed. How practice is approached. How to be disciplined when warming up and how to be locked in and have fun without goofing off. Even how to pack the box for travel meets.
Work is to be done, but humor is expected. Lesnar notes much of what they do to make their throw sail from muscle memory can feel robotic, but deep down, they are people, and Bedard lets them be themselves.
The success the group is having isn’t by accident, nor are the conference titles the team has won since he started overseeing the program – 23 Mountain West championships in indoor and outdoor combined between the men and the women.
“I’m proud of the throws crew, but I’m prouder of the team as a whole as the head coach,” he said. “Having a really good team culture and seeing our athletes have a great time when they’re competing, supporting each other. They’re getting the message. That’s more important to me.”
From it has grown a burgeoning reputation for the throwers, and most recently, particularly the women. When the national championships take place, it’s expected someone from Colorado State will be there, particularly in the circle.
And not just take up space but etch their names as All-Americans. The name they wear across their tops comes with some pressure.
“The flip side is I’ve worn the jersey, done terrible and covered it up. There’s two sides of it,” Lesnar said. “You want to go and perform and show who Colorado State is, but when you underperform, that can be tough. There is an expectation wearing this uniform.”
One which has been earned. One no Ram has to be coy about.
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