Two-Sporters - Modern Era

Minnesota State's Chris Reed plays two sports for the Mavericks

Are you aware of what Minnesota State's Chris Reed has done lately?

Let us enlighten you. The past three weekends, the senior from Omaha, Neb., has worked on building his legacy as the greatest thrower in the school's lengthy track & field history.

This past Saturday Reed broke his own NCAA Division II indoor record in the shot put at the MSU Multi and Open, throwing it 65' 10.25" on his third attempt.  The distance surpassed his old record of 65' 5.5" which he set at the Jack Johnson Classic just a week earlier. He was named an unprecedented USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week for the third consecutive time.

Reed, who was named USTFCCA Central Region Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year last spring, tossed the shot a school record 65’-7” in winning the 2013 national NCAA Division II outdoor title in becoming the fifth Maverick to win a national championship in an outdoor event. He also finished seventh and established a school record in the hammer and was seventh in the discus in earning All-America honors at the event.  This came after he finished second nationally in the shot and fourth in the weight throw at the 2013 NCAA DII Indoor national championships.

He owns school records in both indoor disciplines (weight throw and shot) and two out of three of the outdoor events (shot and hammer throw).  Mike Yonkey established the school discus record of 182 ' 4" in 1988. Yonkey, by the way, was a member of the Maverick football team.

Did we mention that Reed, not unlike Yonkey, also starts on the offensive line for the Maverick football team?  Yes, the one that went 12-1 this past fall and hosted a NCAA second round game at Blakeslee Stadium.

Reed's a rarity nowadays as there aren't many student-athletes that can do two sports.  And especially as well as Reed does.  He does have company right now, though, in that fellow footballers Keyvan Rudd and Nathan Hancock are also tracksters. But it is indeed something that doesn't happen a lot nowadays.

Off the top of our heads, below is partial list in the last few decades of Minnesota State student-athletes who were able to accomplish this challenging feat. Please note - obviously we realize this list is incomplete.  Also the list contains names of Mavericks who played two sports at the same time and does not include those that joined a team following the end of their careers in another sport.

Chris Reed (football, track & field, 2011-present)
Keyvan Rudd (football, track & field, 2010 - present)
Nathan Hancock (football, track & field, 2011 - present) 
Sidni Trotter (soccer, women's basketball, 2013 - present) 
Jenna Peterson (women's hockey, softball, 2008-2012) 
Kelvin Rodgers (football, track & field, 2006-09)
Ben King (football, baseball, 2003-07) 
Michael Lawrence (track & field, football, 2001-05) 
Donnell Bowyer (football, baseball, 2001-03) 
Jared Ziemke (football, men's basketball, 1999-2003)
Ryan Dutton (football, baseball, 1997-2001) 
Tywan Mitchell (football, men's basketball, 1995-98) 
Reggie Patterson (football, track & field, 1995-97) 
Lester Mitchell (men's basketball, track & field, 1989-93) 
Monte Dufault (men's basketball, baseball, 1988-93) 
Nancy Kelly (volleyball, softball, 1985-89) 
Luonna Van Meverven (volleyball, track & field, 1984-88) 
Mike Yonkey (football, track & field, 1987-89) 
Joel Nielsen (football, baseball, 1984-85) 
Mike Carroll (men's hockey, baseball, 1975-80) 
Gene Glynn (men's basketball, baseball, 1975-79)

It's great to be a Maverick.










 

Still Competing, Still Pursuing

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Minnesota State junior Chris Reed capped off the 2012-13 year
with a 13th-place finish in the shot put at the USU Track & Field
Championships.

by Nick Burns, interim Asst. Director, Minnesota State Athletic Communications

 

The 2012-13 Minnesota State athletic season will go down as one of the most successful and memorable seasons in the history of MSU athletics. Several teams made trips to the NCAA Tournament, including several athletes made their mark in individual competition.

One such individual was junior Chris Reed (Omaha, Neb.) of the Minnesota State men’s track and field team. Reed would go on to claim four All-American awards this past season, en route to a national championship in the shot put event in the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Recently, Reed competed in the 2013 USA Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, where he finished in 13th place in the shot put event with a heave of 62’ 0.25” against the best completion in the country.

“It was such a high level of competition,” Reed said. “All of the best throwers from the United States were there so it was a great feeling to compete against them.”

More than 800 athletes competed at the 2013 USA Track and Field Championships, with the hope of being selected to compete at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

“Right after I won the national championship I was selected to compete at the USA Track and Field Championships,” Reed said. “It was just a great feeling to compete against and talk with guys that I have only been able to watch on TV.

“Being able to shake Adam Nelson’s hand and talk with him after he received his Olympic gold medal was really cool,” Reed said. “Overall, it was a fun experience and it also showed me that I’ve got more in me and this competition brought it out of me.”

His performance at the USA Track and Field Championships is another feather in the cap of Reed, who has had one of the most successful seasons a Maverick has ever had.

Reed began his year with an All-American honor at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships, where he finished second in the shot put. Reed, who was named the NSIC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, kept his momentum going into the outdoor schedule where he earned the USTFCCCA Central Region Field Athlete of the Year award.

During the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Reed would find himself competing in three events including the hammer throw, the discus and the shot put.

Competing in the hammer throw event, Reed set an MSU record with a throw of 194’-8” for a seventh-place finish, en route to becoming the first Maverick to secure an All-American award in the event.

He earned his second All-American honor with a seventh-place finish in the discus with a toss of 175’-5” on the second day of competition, but Reed saved his best performance for last.

On the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Reed capped off his season with a national championship in the shot put event, shattering the MSU school record with a mark of 65’-7”. He became just the fifth Maverick to win a national championship and the first since Jim Dilling won the high jump event back in 2007. He is the only Maverick to win a national championship in the shot put.

Reed is the first Maverick to claim three All-American honors in the same championship since Moo Muhammad accomplished that feat back in 1989.

Definitely not a bad season, but rather, a season that will be remembered just like MSU’s whole 2012-13 season.