Senior thrower earns medal at NAIA National meet, preps for outdoor season

Abi Wohlgemuth competes at Concordia’s Early Bird Invite in December for the start of the indoor track and field season.

Photo credit: Concordia Athletics

By Kai Olbrich

This article is featured in the March print edition of the Sower newspaper. 

Hard work, good competition and great community all came together for senior Abi Wohlgemuth and culminated in a runner-up medal in the weight throw at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Track and Field meet in Gainesville, Florida.

After placing sixth at nationals in 2024, Wohlgemuth and throws coach Ed McLaughlin had their eyes set on a top-five finish. Wohlgemuth is very pleased with how the season ended up.

“It means a lot because I have been working forward to this, like all year, like me and Ed have been trying to go towards this,” Wohlgemuth said.

Maddie Sutton, who is on the Doane University team, has been a motivating force for Wohlgemuth.

“So, it’s really fun to watch her do it,” Wohlgemuth said. “But it just means a lot because like last year I got sixth and so I wanted to do better this year, and I did.”

Wohlgemuth has been consistent with her training over her college career but credits much of her success to those around her who have pushed and supported her.

“I think it’s mainly been the people who have been around me because, like, I don’t think I’ve really done anything different with training because we’ve always been doing lifting in the fall and stuff,” Wohlgemuth said. “And just like the people who were there my freshman year, like the seniors and the fifth years, I was able to see what they did and I wanted to do what they did. And so now I’m just able to keep pushing and like I have the other people around me who keep me going.”

McLaughlin believes that Wohlgemuth’s success has not been an overnight phenomenon but a long process over multiple years.

“I think having such a great season is based on all the work Abi and the others have put in since returning to school in the fall,” he said. “With her, it’s been a four-year process to find the right mix of speed, strength, and technique. We felt this year she found the best way to throw the weight for her, which allowed her the best chance to succeed.”

Nationals can be a high-pressure environment, so Wohlgemuth wanted to live in the moment and focus on what was immediately in front of her.

“After caging my first one, I just needed to settle and get the throw so I could get into finals. And I did, and then Ed was just there telling me now it’s time to push and go for it and just relax and have fun because there’s nothing else to lose at this point,” she said.

Wohlgemuth earned second place at both nationals and at the Great Plains Athletic Conference meet. This was not due to an especially good or bad performance at either meet; it was because Doane’s Sutton competed at both. Wohlgemuth is grateful for the competition because it prepares her for the level of competition she faces in the postseason.

“Doane has always been our rival and we’ve always been trying to go against them. And so no matter what, we see Doane everywhere,” Wohlgemuth said. “And so it’s always been just like us chasing each other. That also prepared me for nationals because I knew at least what the competition would be like because I had thrown against it.”

Wohlgemuth isn’t just a leader on the stat sheet; McLaughlin said that she is a helpful leader who the team will miss once she is gone.

“She has become a great leader and has been a fully involved teammate since day one. She is always willing to help and assist with anything that is asked of her,” McLaughlin said. “We are going to miss her competitiveness and leadership once she graduates, but we are excited to see what the future holds.”

Wohlgemuth is looking forward to enjoying her final collegiate season as she transitions to the outdoors. It takes some adjustment, but she hopes to find herself back to the very top at nationals.

“Honestly, I just want to have some good memories with everyone else because it’s my final year. And outdoor is an interesting event,” she said. “Sometimes hammer doesn’t always go the way I want it to since it’s different than weight. And so I’m just focused on now getting back into hammer because it’s different and figuring out how to throw it and just enjoy the moments. And hopefully, I can go to nationals again this year because it’ll be my third time going for outdoor, so I’m hoping I can make finals for outdoor. I haven’t made it yet,” Wohlgemuth said.