Northern Star: Gage Stankiewicz
For this week's segment, we feature a UW-Superior thrower who finished 12th in the shot put in his first NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
SUPERIOR, Wis. – Throwing wasn’t always the first option for Gage Stankiewicz.
“I kind of, wasn’t really forced to do it but I was always like oh this is dumb,” Stankiewicz said.
But it was only a matter of time before the Esko native would love the sport as he comes from a long line of throwers.
“I started getting the hang of it enjoying it way more and now I love it like every day, I look forward to practice, it’s just awesome,” Stankiewicz said.
“He’s a technician and really dives into the technical side of things. Having enough family that’s been doing it for a long time, they’ve kind of picked this thing apart. His mom was a great thrower herself. It runs in the blood and just to be able to continue to talk about it with the family,” head coach Glen Drexler added.
When it was time to pick a college, it was a relatively easy decision for Stankiewicz as his family is written all over the UWS record books.
“My uncle’s got the record here at UWS and also had the record at Esko which I broke that for discus. Here it just feels like more of a family,” Stankiewicz said.
“An Esko thrower and when someone’s that good, we’ll notice. Knowing that he’s a local kid, we’ll keep an eye on him. His grandfather is a hall of famer here at UWS, his cousin threw for us, went to nationals for us in hammer throw. It’s kind of a family affair around him. We’re excited to have him continue the tradition of throwers here at UWS,” Drexler added.
Now Stankiewicz is writing his own history. This past weekend, he became the latest UW-Superior thrower to compete at NCAA Championships, finishing in 12th in the shot put in just his first season.
“When I went to state as a sophomore, I was frozen in the ring, just terrified and I didn’t even know why. Now I’m looking at it as just enjoying it. When I do that I do better and feel better. I definitely want to go down there and have fun and do my best and make a name for myself early,” Stankiewicz said.
“To step in as a freshman and throw against seniors and not have the pressure, I think he’s going to have a really good opportunity,” Drexler added.
With an outdoor season and multiple more years in a UWS uniform, Stankiewicz believes this is just the beginning of his own story.
“We’ve had very good success with our throwers over the past 20 years and I think Gage is going to continue to take us to another level,” Drexler said.
“I always wanted to have that one good thing that I could be really good at and know shot and discus and all throwing is really clicking for me and I really, really enjoy it. I’ve come a lot further and I can learn and get coached and I still have way more in me. I think that’s the best part is knowing that there’s still a lot more to come after this season,” Stankiewicz added.
