With one attempt remaining in the invitational section of the shot put competition at the Virginia Challenge, Michigan senior Andrew Liskowitz entered the thrower’s circle.
Standing in third place, Liskowitz trailed former Olympic silver medalist Joe Kovacs and professional Jordan Young. But after holding the lead through the first two throws, Liskowitz was surpassed by Kovacs and his 20.20 meter throw.
Liskowitz would go on to stun the spectators by launching an impressive 20.23 meter throw, besting Kovacs by three centimeters. Trying to salvage the lead they once had, Kovacs and Young fouled their final attempts and Liskowitz clinched a dramatic victory for the Michigan men’s track and field team.
It was a career-best series for Liskowitz that featured five attempts of 19.50 meters or greater, the first time the Michigan senior had achieved that feat in his tenure for the Wolverines.
“I’ve kind of figured out what works best for him in training and found a sequence that works pretty good and that’s helped strengthen a lot of those positions and his consistency,” said Michigan coach Jerry Clayton.
After Liskowitz’s thrilling win, Clayton still remains focused on achieving the team’s goals and improving his players’ level of consistency in competition.
“With a series like that, he’s definitely in a good position right now, but we feel there’s still a lot more room for improvement,” Clayton said.
On that front, Clayton believes that Liskowitz needs to focus on consistently making throws that land in the range between 19.50 and 20 meters now that Liskowitz has approached the 20-meter threshold.
“Normally when you make a big jump, you got to fill in the gap, and so now he’s starting to fill in under those 20 meters,” Clayton said. “That’s what you need to make another jump and that’s what we’re looking for and hopefully we can get that here in the championship phase of the season.”