Middle Tennessee State University Freshman Isaac Odugbesan broke his former School Record of 18.16m while competing in the men’s Shot put at the 2018 War Eagle Invitational held over the weekend at Auburn, Alabama, replacing it with a superior mark of 18.72m.
This is Odugbesan’s second time of breaking the School Record in less than two months, having erased the previous record of 17.56m set by Brian Oldfield.
Odugbesan finished 3rd overall at the competition which was won by Willie Morrison (19.31m), while Alabama’s Kord Ferguson placed 2nd with his best throw of 19.18m.
He opened competition with a throw of 18.05m, before smashing his Personal Best (PB) with his second throw which landed at 18.72m. His third throw was 18.41m, but was fouled on his fourth and fifth attempts, before ending his campaign with 17.09m.
While speaking with Making of Champions about his recent feat, the thrower said: “It feels great breaking two School Records in less than two months. Just goes to show that I can perform well with all the right tools available. I started off pretty rough – I even did 15.12m at the Indoor Conference, which was a low point for me.”
Odugbesan, who was the 2017 U-20 Nigerian Champion, relocated to the US earlier in the season and says he didn’t have any issues adjusting to his new environment or combining Athletics with his academics:
“It wasn’t difficult adjusting to a new environment to be honest. The reason I did poorly when I just arrived was because I was out of shape: plain and simple! I am enjoying my first year at MTSU. It is cool and I like it here.
“It has been easy coping with my academics and training because I ran a much tighter schedule while I was at the University of Lagos, so coming here where the school gives me an organized schedule, I find it much easier and I’m able to cope.”
Disclosing his goals for the year, Odugbesan who is studying Art, said: “In 2018, I want to hit a mid-19m before the year runs out. I’m already qualified for the NCAA regionals, so I plan on winning my outdoor conference and going to the NCAA Nationals”.
Meanwhile fellow Blue Raider Abike Egbeniyi won the women’s 400m at the event with a time of 52.48s as another Nigerian, Vanderbilt’s Jennifer Edobi followed in 53.96s.
