It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no wait, it’s a… discus?

Take a step into the world of track and field and you will see metal discs, balls, hammers and javelins flying through the sky. Tucked behind the Nielsen Tennis Stadium, encapsulated by trees and wildlife, you will find the UW-Madison throwing ring where redshirt senior, Josie Schaefer, spends her days.

From a young age, Schaefer had an interest in throwing as she stumbled across her dad’s old rubber discs from when he was in high school. Instead of walking around and throwing it like a frisbee, her dad showed her how to get the job done, “We got really into it and we bonded over it and he set us up in the shed with a tarp and we practiced there all year round and got good at it so I stuck with it,” said Schaefer.

Practicing year-round proved to pay off as the Baraboo native went on to receive multiple offers from colleges, with her final decision landing on UW-Madison. Beyond her dream of working with the incredible Kelsey Card, Schaefer believed Wisconsin was a perfect fit for her overall after meeting with Coach Dave, “We vibed really well right away and he set out what my career would look like and our goals really aligned athletically.”

Due to COVID-19 disrupting the athletic system, Schaefer still has one more year under her belt at Wisconsin. Her career has been extremely impressive thus far as she has found herself spots on both the Indoor and Outdoor Top 10 Performance Lists. On the Indoor performance list, she is ranked first in the shot put with a throw of 59 feet 5 ¼ inches. On the Outdoor performance list, she is ranked second in the discus with a throw of 187 feet 9 inches and second in the shot put with a throw of 60 feet ¼ inches.

Coming off of this past indoor season, Schaefer was hesitant as she did not believe she performed to the best of her ability at Nationals, “Unfortunately, I didn’t execute the technique like I was supposed to. And yeah, that was, that was a big shock to the system…So that was a big heartbreak. But it did give me a renewed focus into this training period between indoor and outdoor and going into the outdoor season.”

Even though her indoor season did not go as planned, her outdoor season has proven to be successful as she has been winning events left and right. Her most recent accomplishment occurred at the Wisconsin Classic, where she not only won shot put but also won discus with a personal best throw of 187 feet 9 inches. With that being said, although she has a great deal of experience within the throwing realm, it seems that she is not quite ready to leave the world of track and field after college.

Schaefer has had some practice throwing at the professional level as she competed in the United States Olympic trials in 2021 and came out with a 10th place finish in shot put and 19th in discus. In order to make it to the Olympic trials, one must be in the top 24 of their event throughout the nation, and it occurs directly after a long and grueling season. It takes a special type of athlete to be able to compete after already competing for the past six months, and Schaefer lived up to this standard.

Seeing this success from her while she is still in school leaves us with the question, what’s next for Schaefer? If you thought she was going to hang up her shoes, you would be mistaken. “I was planning to be done throwing after this year, and then when COVID hit, and I started to throw kind of at the professional elite like flirting with the line to maybe do this after college, those plans kind of changed. So really, I’m just kind of seeing how this year next year goes, and maybe keep throwing for as long as I can.”

Throughout her career, we have seen Schaefer improve by 11 feet in shot put and 13 feet in discus, so just imagine where her ability could go if she continues on after Wisconsin. No matter where she goes, we know she will excel and continue to inspire athletes for years to come.

Imagine this; you’re taking a stroll over to the Nielsen Tennis Courts and hear a commotion in the distance. You weave your way around to the backside of the courts, past the softball complex, and stumble upon where the real magic is happening, the throwing rings. 

In awe, you watch as athletes throw objects farther than you could ever imagine, and think, “Am I dreaming?”  

In short, no, you are not. This is the exact situation that would occur if your eyes were to land on the UW Women’s throwing team who have been dominating their competition this past season. 

After coming off of a successful indoor season, select athletes are only two meets into their outdoor season, and are already setting personal bests, claiming spots on the Outdoor Top Ten Performance list, and sweeping their competition aside. 

Throughout the indoor season, it was evident that the Badgers wanted to prove they were a force to be reckoned with, and they managed to do just that. The women’s throwers ended their indoor season on a high note at the Big 10 Indoor Championships. This is where Chole Lindeman and Olivia Roberts not only cleaned the floor with their competition in the Weight Throw but also managed to claim a spot on the Indoor Top 10 Performance list. 

Lindeman and Roberts put on quite the show for the other athletes as they battled for first place. Roberts sat in the lead for the majority of the event with a personal best throw of 69 feet 11 ¾ inches. That was until Lindeman came out of left field on her fourth throw with a personal best of 72 feet 3 ¾ inches, thus crowning her the Big 10 Indoor Champion in the Weight Throw. 

While this is Lindeman’s first Big Ten individual title, it will most likely not be her last as she is only a sophomore who has plenty of time to further improve, thus scaring her competition away for years to come.  

Lindeman and Roberts were not the only athletes to excel at the Big 10 Indoor Championships, as Redshirt Senior Josie Schaefer secured the runner-up spot in the women’s shot put. Her throw of 59 feet 1 ¼ inch was only a mere few inches off of her indoor personal best of 59 feet 5 ¼ inches which was recorded at the St. Valentine’s invitational on February 18th. Her success at the St. Valentine’s invitation found her a number one spot on the Indoor Top 10 list for shot put. 

Moving from indoor to outdoor season, it is expected that athletes will take a few meets to get accustomed to the change in scenery as there is only a one-week turnaround. This has not been the case for the women’s throwers thus far, so I suggest you take everything you know and throw it out the window, literally. 

Coming off of a successful indoor season, it does not come as a surprise that the women’s throwing team has entered the outdoor season with impressive performances. 

Right off the bat at The Texas Relays, Lindeman finished seventh in the hammer throw with a personal best of 195 feet 3 inches. This throw moved her up to 3rd on the Outdoor Top 10 list from her previous position of 5th. The same weekend at The Bobcat Invitational, Roberts also made her way onto the Outdoor Top 10 list with a throw of 189-6 in the hammer throw, placing her at number six. 

Schaefer walked away from the Texas Relays with two top-six finishes consisting of third in shot put with a throw of 55 feet 7 ¾ inches, and sixth in discus with a throw of 174 feet 3 inches. 

To the average person, the performances displayed by the women throwers during their stint at the Texas Relays would be very impressive. Now picture these athletes doing the same task with the distraction of a cattle walking through the meet. The whole thing just got a lot more impressive.  

Schaefer explained how during warm-ups a massive cow came waltzing through the field as part of the meets opening ceremony, “they stopped the meet, it’s like opening ceremony, they bring this huge cow in the middle of the discus sector and we’re just sitting there like, ‘What excuse me? We’re trying to warm up.’” 

Even with this occurring and canons going off during warm-ups, yes, canons, the athletes marched on and came out of the meet with some excellent marks. Beyond this hiccup, starting out the Outdoor season with Top 10 finishes and personal bests only further proves that these three throwers are ones their competition will want to watch out for. 

All in all, if you didn’t have a reason to follow college track and field before, you definitely do now as the UW women’s throwers are displaying impressive performances meet after meet.