Otterdahl looking to win individual crown for Bison, become first male athlete since Ohio State’s Dan Taylor in 2004 to sweep national indoor titles in shot put and weight throw

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The “King of the North” is aiming to be the king of the ring this weekend at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships.

North Dakota State fifth-year senior Payton Otterdahl is making his debut at the indoor final at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Alabama, and could produce one of the greatest championship showcases by any thrower in collegiate history.

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Otterdahl, the collegiate indoor record holder in the shot put and No. 5 all-time collegiate performer in the 35-pound weight throw, is attempting to become the first male athlete to win both titles since Ohio State’s Dan Taylor in 2004.

“I didn’t see myself last year being in the place that I’m in now,” said Otterdahl, who is looking to become North Dakota State’s first national champion in any event.

“But now that I’m here, competing (Friday) and Saturday, I still have some things that I want to do this indoor season, so I’m going to put forth my best effort and let it all happen.”

Otterdahl already achieved a career goal when he eclipsed the collegiate indoor shot put record Feb. 23 at the Summit League Championships with a third-round mark of 71-6.75 (21.81m), surpassing the 2016 record of 71-3.50 (21.73m) set by Ryan Crouser in 2016 when he was at Texas.

The performance also elevated Otterdahl to the No. 2 performer in the world this year, trailing only the 73-3.25 (22.33m) effort unleashed Feb. 9 by Crouser at the 112th NYRR Millrose Games.

“It was super important to me,” Otterdahl said. “It had been one of my goals since the beginning of the indoor season based on how fall training had been going. Having that done is a weight off my chest, but I’d still like to see it raised before I’m done here.”

Otterdahl also boasts marks of 71 feet (21.64m) and 70-11.25 (21.62m), giving him three of the top five shot put efforts in collegiate indoor history. He credits finding a comfort zone in his third year using the spin technique in the ring after gliding his first two seasons competing in Fargo, allowing him to improve his personal best by nearly three feet from last year.

Although winning the shot put Friday is Otterdahl’s main goal, all his efforts aren’t just tied into one event.
Otterdahl also ranks No. 2 in the world this year in the weight throw with his 78-11.25 (24.06m) performance Feb. 8 at the South Dakota State Indoor Classic, the best effort by a collegiate athlete since 2015. Only Alabama standout Daniel Haugh, the USATF Indoor champion, has a better mark globally this year at 79-1.75 (24.12m).

“I don’t know why, but weight throw has always come kind of natural to me. This is the first year that I’ve been training the weight throw more than once a week,” Otterdahl said. “I have a good feel for it, I’m strong and I can rip it and it feels like a natural movement for me to throw it that far. It’s fun to throw, but I’m looking forward and my back is looking forward to this being the last meet that I have to throw the weight. I’m looking to go out on top and feel good about it.”

Otterdahl has gained incentive in his pursuit of history from recent champions Filip Mihaljevic of Virginia and Denzel Comenentia of Georgia, who have captured national outdoor titles in multiple throwing events in the same year.

Comenentia, who won the shot put and hammer throw at the Division 1 outdoor final in June, is the only other athlete entered in both men’s throwing finals this weekend.

“I have a lot of respect for him. To break the collegiate record is impressive. I wouldn’t even dream about that,” Comenentia said. “He’s a good competitor and he’s a good athlete, so I’m excited to see what we can expect at nationals.”

Otterdahl will face a significant challenge in the weight throw from Florida’s AJ McFarland, Michigan’s Joseph Ellis, Comenentia and last year’s champion David Lucas of Penn State. His biggest threat in the shot put is expected to be Arizona sophomore Jordan Geist.

“It’s nice to be able to focus on multiple events,” Otterdahl said. “If anything, for me, training multiple events is to kind of take the pressure off one event.

“I would say that shot put is my main event, so it’s nice to know that I have weight throw to think about, too, because it takes off some of my focus and takes the stress off the event knowing I have another event to fall back on.”

Although Otterdahl is the headliner, North Dakota State will be represented by its largest contingent of athletes ever to compete at an indoor championship meet, with Bailey Retzlaff and Shelby Gunnells in the women’s shot put and Maddy Nilles in the women’s weight throw.

The quartet of national qualifiers continue to showcase the tradition of elite throwers developed annually by North Dakota State coach Justin St. Clair, who was recognized as the Midwest Region Men’s and Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

“He deserves just about all the credit. He will not admit to that at all and if he heard me saying that, he’d correct me on the spot, but I trust him completely with everything that I’m doing,” Otterdahl said. “If it’s in the middle of my (competition) and I step in the ring and he tells me to do something, that’s my focus. That’s how much I trust him and trust his judgement. He knows what he’s talking about and he knows what I need to do to succeed. His presence has really been huge.”