Nicole Nelson took on the challenge and ranked eighth among all NCAA Division II freshmen in the hammer throw.
By Joel Badzinski
Nicole Nelson just wanted to grab lunch and meet some of her new classmates when she attended a picnic during freshman orientation two years ago.
The last thing she expected was an invitation to try out for the Winona State University women’s track and field team.
Nelson took on the challenge and finished last season ranked eighth among all NCAA Division II freshmen in the hammer throw.
While participating in varsity athletics was not part of Nelson’s plan when she enrolled at Winona State, immersing herself in the community as a volunteer was a top priority.
Last year, Nelson gave 180 hours while helping out the Winona YMCA skating program, and she spent her entire spring break volunteering at her former high school in the Twin Cities. As a freshman, she spent 60 hours with Miller Mentoring, an afterschool program in Winona.
Nelson, a Health, Exercise and Rehabilitative Science major, has twice been named WSU Athletics Community Service Person of the Year, receiving the Hometown Hero award for giving the most community service hours.
“You’ve heard the quote, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world,’ from Gandhi, and I’ve always taken that very seriously,” Nelson said. “I want to be a part of making the world better. I can help out kids – I love kids – and it’s fun to be a positive role model for them.”
Nelson has gotten her chance to work closely with kids, both at Miller Mentoring and the YMCA.
“Miller Mentoring is a really cool afterschool program where you’re paired with a mentee, usually a student from fourth to eighth grade,” Nelson said. “You help them with homework for an hour and then do a fun bonding activity. The YMCA program was so much fun; I had the chance to hang around with a lot of kids, help them with homework and doing activities, and it was a blast.”
Nelson took an unusual path to become a top Division II track and field athlete.
She was waiting in line for hot dogs and bratwurst one spot ahead of Warriors assistant coach, Mike Turgeon, who asked her if she was an athlete. She told him no; the closest she’d gotten to sports at her high school in Minneapolis was as a manager for the soccer team.
But, she added, her father had played college football and her mother had actually been a professional wrestler.
Turgeon, who had noticed Nelson’s strong build, wrote “hammer throw” on the back of his business card, gave it to her, and told her to go back and Google search the unique event. If she liked what she saw, she could email him back and give it a try.
Nelson researched the event as soon as her freshman orientation class was over and was intrigued. She made the varsity roster a year ago and everything clicked during an indoor meet at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in February.
Competing in the weight throw, a version of the hammer throw modified for indoors, she hit 46’ ¾”, easily a personal best.
“Boom, pow,” Nelson said with a smile. “It was so cool, it was definitely that breaking point of, OK, I got it! I can be good at it.”
Said Turgeon: “In her first year, she struggled every day, and then the following year for it to start clicking, it’s crazy how determined she was.”
