College track & field: Highland alum Owen Wendl has sights set on Akron record book

AKRON — All it takes is a quick stroll through the Louis and Freda Stiles Athletic Field House to understand why redshirt senior Owen Wendl chose to attend the University of Akron. Wendl, a 2021 Highland graduate now in his fifth season of competing, beams with pride while showing off the facility, making sure to point out each and every detail, including the wide-open area for discus and shot put throwers to practice — something not every school can provide. Wendl had to be prodded to point out something else: the wall of Mid-American Conference individual track and field champions, a list his name will go on for the fifth time after winning the MAC Indoor championship in shot put for the second straight season with a throw of 59 feet, 7.75 inches. "It felt really good," he said. "It was almost like everything that I've worked for is finally starting to pay off." Wendl came close this season to breaking the school record of 60-11.25 set by Auston Papay in 2008. Wendl's top throw was 60-8, accomplished Feb. 20 at the facility he enjoys so much. He was named the MAC Field Athlete of the Week twice, once after finishing sixth at the Spire Throws America Throws/Jump Festival and again following what was then a career-best 59-4.25 at Kent State's Jud Logan Invitational. When Wendl wins those awards, he is usually one of the last to know. "It's always interesting, because I don't have social media," said Wendl, who also started at offensive tackle for the Highland football team. "I think I have an old throws page, but I've been off of Instagram and Facebook and Snapchat, so it'll be somebody, either a teammate or my coach, telling me, and I'm like, 'Oh, that's super sweet.' It always comes as a big surprise." Wendl heads to the outdoor season as the two-time defending MAC champion in the discus and the defending champion in the shot put. Being hunted in both events for the first time is something he is mindful of. He also knows there are plenty of carrots to chase to keep him from getting complacent. "This is the first year where it's truly like, I kind of have to set the standard, and I have to keep that standard as high as I can," he said. "That's something that we struggled with indoors is, I think competitions, a good competition, usually brings out the best in me, but when I don't have anyone there to push me, I have to find some other form of motivation, whether it's breaking the school record, hitting a new (personal record) or something that just motivates me to throw farther vs. somebody actually beating me." Wendl has always done a good job of giving himself a goal, especially at the MAC Championships, where four of his five titles have come with a PR. The only exception was the most recent, so now his goal is chasing two records he believes are within his sights. "I have the second best in indoor shot, and then I have the second in outdoor shot and second in disc," Wendl said. "So, I have some people to chase." As he was in the indoor shot put, Wendl is chasing Papay in the outdoor shot put. Papay set the mark at 60-8.75 in 2007, while Wendl's top mark is 60-2.50, which he accomplished at the MAC championships last season to win his first outdoor shot put title. In the discus, he trails just Phil Jagers, who had a throw of 205-9 in 2016, which is 5-1 better than Wendl's MAC championship-winning 200-10 from last season. "I think it's going to be a matter of technically being sound, but also having good conditions," Wendl said. "I think that if I can improve on my technical skills from last year, if I get similar conditions to what I threw in at our conference championship, I should be able to execute and hopefully get close or break that record." The motivation and competitive fire that Wendl now shows in college can be traced back to his final season of high school, where he finished as Division I state runner-up in the discus with a 171-1. He was the first Hornet to podium at the state meet in 10 years, but that second-place finish just made him hungrier. If anything, finishing second might have made his college career better than had he finished his high school career as a state champion. "I think that sparked my competitiveness and helped me compete, and I think that's something that I'm now starting to realize is what the catalyst was for how I'm able to PR at these conference meets." Wendl said. "I'm really starting to get into the competition and realize that, hey, if somebody throws farther than you, you have to either step up to the event, or the alternative is that you don't, and you end up getting second again. That's something that I'm really grateful for. I think if I got first, I wouldn't have come to that realization. It's always nice to have a chip on your shoulder." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.