By By Patrick McHugh, News Staff

Nate Hunter will once again have a chance to prove he is the best in the country.
The junior thrower of the track and field team qualified for the NCAA championship for the second time this year thanks to his performance at the NCAA East Regional May 29 in Greensboro, N.C.
Hunter competed in the shot put at the regionals with a throw of 60 feet, 8.5 inches. He finished fifth in the event, to qualify him for the NCAA championship. He is the Huskies’ eighth track and field athlete to participate in a national championship since 2002.
Hunter said his fifth-place finish was his goal going into the regional competition.
‘The East Regional is the toughest so I was just hoping for a top five finish, and fortunately I got the job done,’ Hunter said.
Track coach Sherman Hart said he is not surprised at Hunter’s success, given the time he has put into his sport.
‘Nate has worked very, very hard to get to this point all year,’ Hart said. ‘He’s done all the necessary things in the weight room, out of the weight room as well. Basically he’s done all the important things that have allowed him to be there. He’s a student of the sport and it shows.’
Hunter said he has been working closely with throwing coach Joe Donahue in preparation for the championships. He said he and Donahue are focusing more on technique and getting away from the tendency to use pure muscle. He said simulating the event in practices has helped him focus on the event.
Hunter enters familiar territory in competing for a national title. On March 13 he competed in the NCAA indoor championship in College Station, Texas. Competing in the shot put, his throw of 61 feet, 4.75 inches was good enough for seventh in the event, a mark that earned him All-American honors.
Hart said he believes Hunter enters the upcoming championship in a good position thanks to the experience gained from his participation in the indoor hampionship.
‘I think once you’ve done it then you’re a little bit more composed, so the composure factor is a big part of it,’ Hart said. ‘It’s the same factor with Nate. He’s been there, he’s competed, he finished well, and he’s an All-American. He’s seen these guys over and over again, so I think that he brings that experience factor there back with him this time.’
Hart said because of Hunter’s experience in the event, he could finish near the top.
‘I think he has the capability of winning, but he has to put everything together on that very throw,’ Hart said. ‘I would say certainly he’s right up there with the top five.’
Hunter said he is looking forward to the challenge of another championship meet.
‘It’s a great chance for me to do my personal best on a national stage,’ Hunter said. ‘It’s going to kill me if I don’t do my best. I want to cap a good season with a top eight finish and become an outdoor All-American.’
The NCAA Outdoor Championship is June 10 to 13 in Fayetteville, Ark., on the University of Arkansas campus.
With Hunter as the last track athlete left to compete, Hart remarked on a track season that he considers a success despite external and internal disruptions.
‘I think we had a good season, all things considered,’ Hart said. ‘The fact is mother nature didn’t cooperate up here and the injury factor as well. You have to take the good with the bad. We can’t control nature and we can’t control people being hurt and being out. I’m really looking forward to getting everybody back next season because I do have a relatively young team.’