-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
International recruitment part II of III:
Archive
Comments
Story
It can take quite a lot of courage and trust to move across the globe nearly 10,000 miles without much prior knowledge and a great deal of familiarity of a place. But that’s exactly what Australian track and field thrower Simon Wardhaugh did.
“I came out in 2005 took a leap of faith [in Boise State] and gave it a go,” Wardhaugh said. “I had to go home for a year, I was ineligible, then I just came back in ‘06 and been here since.” Wardhaugh, who is originally from Bracken Ridge, spent 2004-05 at the University of Queensland, before transferring to BSU. One of the main reasons Wardhaugh decided to come to an American university was because his coach was leaving.
“Just my coach at home, he was American and he was leaving here and I’d been contacted by a few universities,” Wardhaugh said. “My coach at home recommend BSU so here I am.” Wardhaugh never did a traditional recruiting trip like most athletes do before they commit to a schoo. The only information he had on BSU and Head Track Coach Mike Maynard was through his old coach.
“I didn’t know him [Maynard] at all, my coach at home was friends with him and everything,” Wardhaugh said. “I was just having to see what it was like and go out on a limb.”
When first arriving in Boise, it took a bit of adjusting for Wardhaugh. The only other time he had been to the United States was when he was 8-years-old when his family went to Disney Land.
“It was a little bit of a cultural shock,” Wardhaugh said. “It’s very similar to Australia, the main difference is like the climate and being away from the beach and the warm weather. But everything else, it’s similar.”
Another aspect that Wardhaugh had to adjust to was the different level of competition at the Division I level.
“It has been a hard adjustment, especially coming from being a junior and throwing a lighter weight and going straight out into the senior weight and throwing with guys that are throwing a lot further and everything,” Wardhaugh said. “It’s been a slow and steady adjustment, but I think I’m finally getting there.”
That slow and steady adjustment has paid off for Wardhaugh. For the combined indoor/outdoor season, he has collected numerous Western Athletic Athlete for the Week honors, won the indoor WAC title in the weight throw and is ranked fourth in the NCAA and first in the WAC in the hammer throw. The hammer throw has been his strongest event at BSU.
“I pretty much threw the discus and shot and everything like that [in high school], but hammer was my main event,” Wardhaugh said. “I actually did running as well when I was younger; I did the 100 meters.”
That advantage of being capable of throwing a variety of implements has come to serve Wardhaugh well.
“A lot of the guys here don’t even throw in high school and everything, and that puts me really far ahead and it makes it a lot easier.”
With the success that Wardhaugh has achieved here as a Bronco in such a short time, has helped attract another Australian native to the program: thrower Jarrod Stevens.
“He was kind of without a coach or didn’t have a good situation,” Wardhaugh said. “He got contacted from someone from Penn State and he was asking me about if I knew anything about it and I told my coach and my coach just jumped on him straight away and said just come here.”
Since coming to BSU Stevens has experienced much of the same success that Wardhaugh has. What is unique about both of them, is they were familiar with each other before coming to Boise.
“We used to compete,” Wardhaugh said about Stevens. “He was in different state, quite far way, but yeah, we always competed once or twice a year against each other. [I] definitely knew who he was and about him.”
Now they share more than just their passion for throwing.
“We’re roommates and everything, pretty much train together, travel together, pretty much do everything together,” Wardhaugh said.
With only one meet left before WAC Championships, which will be hosted by the Broncos, Wardhaugh hopes for a good performance when the stakes are high.
“I hope to win the WAC [for hammer],” Wardhaugh said. “[I have currently thrown] 224 feet and would like to get over 230. [It would be very nice to do] by WAC or at WACs. That’s my main goal.”
However, whatever the outcome, Wardhaugh is just living in the moment and doing what he does best.
“We don’t have anything like this at home [this kind of track team],” Wardhaugh said. “It’s awesome."
MARY ALBL
Assistant Sports Editor
