Borrman Takes Important First Step

EUGENE, Ore. – Part of growing in any endeavor is finding a way past any consistent action which proves to be annoying.

As a thrower, waiting until the final attempt to set a mark ranks pretty high. It does for Kajsa Borrman's coach. But her ability to come through is rather telling for the veteran mentor at Colorado State.

"Oh yeah, but she's going to stay in the fight. Ultimately, we'd like her not to be in that position," CSU coach Brian Bedard said. "More consistent training throws and more consistent competition throws, then some spikes in her performance, is ultimately where we're going to go."

Tuesday's step was necessary, one Borrman was grateful to take. The sophomore would have preferred to cover more ground in the instant, but the build up made the season and the day rather memorable.

Her first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships finished with her being an honorable mention All-American, taking it right down the wire before securing a mark in the hammer throw.

"This is probably the first step of the process, if I'm being honest," Borrman said. "Yes, there's conference and regionals, but my ultimate goal is to be a national champion, and even more than that. Without this under my belt, I don't think that goal is going to mean as much, because I wouldn't have done the work to get there.

"That's definitely something to kind of check off my list. It's pretty low on the list but how am I supposed to get higher if I don't have these experiences?"

At the Mountain West Championships, Borrman scratched her first two attempts before unleashing a quality throw and eventually securing her first outdoor conference title. At the NCAA West First Round meet at Texas A&M – where she had to be top 12 to qualify for nationals – again, she waited until her final throw to snare the last qualifying spot.

After scratching on her first two attempts on the day, Borrman stepped into the ring and ignited the spectators gathered in the stands and along a walkway overlooking the hammer throw venue sitting just outside the main Hayward Field arena into a rhythmic clap. Gathering herself, she registered a mark of 207-3, finishing 10^th in the first flight, 21st overall.

"I do tend to put myself in a tough situation. I mean, the clap kind of just gave me the freedom to just compete and stop thinking, which I definitely did," Borrman said. "I don't know why that happens. I just like to keep everybody on their toes."

One competition's results aside, this was a season of major growth for her. Her numbers soared in the event, her personal best of 220-8 sitting second in school history and ranking 15^th in the country as she headed to Eugene.

That's the type of growth both she and Bedard steer most of their focus.

"I think you have to get here first. That's the first step because it's hard to get to this meet and survive the regional meet and get here healthy," Bedard said. "It's pretty rare you get a young athlete to do extremely well here, so it's the first step in the whole process. A lot of it is, this isn't quite as scary as I thought it would be -- it's not the land of Oz. I can get here, and I know what I need to do to get here, and I know what I'll need to do next time to prepare better."

Nationals closed her collegiate season, but definitely not Borrman's summer experience. From July 17-21, she will represent Sweden in both the discus and hammer at the U23 European Championships in Norway.

In Eugene, she took it all in and filed it away for seasons and performances to come. She felt the atmosphere was electric, definitely tapping in when it mattered most for her. She expects it will aid her when she competes in Norway. She expects both of those competitions to be excellent building blocks for the future.

Beyond her numbers, Bedard watched her grow in other key areas, namely her kinesthetic awareness and the ability to read what her body is telling her. It allowed her to stay healthy, which led to better training and positive results. The two conference titles she won – one indoor in the weight throw – are rather telling.

She claims she's not a goal setter, at least in a numbers sense. She does look forward to experiences, and this is one she plans to relive again, with better results.

"I'm definitely looking forward to getting a more solid first throw, now that I know what's expected of me and what I'm going to be up against with the other athletes around," she said. "And I definitely know what I'm capable of too. It's really going to help me out in these bigger meets, and even the next two years, I'm definitely going to be here. I'm only a sophomore so I have two more year of this and indoor too, so I have a lot to work forward too."

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