Field day — Arrhenius' discus title leads Y.'s All-American track efforts

PROVO — In 2001, Niklas Arrhenius reached the pinnacle of high school track and field when he shattered the national record in the discus throw while a senior at Mountain View High School.

Last weekend, six years after his high school exploits vaulted him into the national spotlight, he again claimed the honor of top discus thrower in the nation, this time competing for Brigham Young University at the NCAA track and field championships in Sacramento, Calif.

Arrhenius' championship-winning throw of 206 feet, 2 inches gave the Cougar men their fourth individual national championship in the last three years.

He was also one of just two BYU male athletes to score at the national championships, as BYU finished tied for 26th in the team standings. BYU's women fared slightly better, tallying 10 points to tie for 21st place.

Arrhenius' individual championship was the culmination of a successful collegiate career, along with marking the end of a long quest for a title, one that began his first day as a Cougar.

"It has been a long time" Arrhenius said. "It's been six years since high school, and this is the first time I've come out and got a championship since then. It's a dream come true."

The winning throw didn't come right away, as Arrhenius struggled through the opening rounds of finals, fouling twice and generally forcing his throws.

"I got into kind of a rut with bad technique; I was just trying to kill it too much" he said. "I kind of eased up, and the fourth round felt all right. I knew that I could do some more, and the fifth round was the one I hit."

In that fifth round, Arrhenius unleashed for his championship throw, moving him past Stanford's Michael Robertson in the standings and on the medal podium, providing 10 points for his side.

"I'm ecstatic for Nik. What an incredible discus competition" said BYU men's coach Mark Robison. "He struggled a little bit, but he found a way to pull things out ... been ranked first all year almost, and nobody's given him much credit. He's one of the best we've ever had."

Arrhenius was one of the few bright spots for the Cougars, who were hit hard with the injury bug this season, with the affects showing at the national meet.

"I thought we performed well, we just came up short," Robison said. "They came, they performed at or near their lifetime bests, every single one of them. I'm disappointed that as a team we didn't perform better, but I can't be disappointed. They gave me everything."