Cartwright Named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year
3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
March 16, 2017
» Weight thrower Grant Cartwright was voted the top field event athlete in the Big Ten for the 2017 indoor track and field season.
» Never before had a male Michigan field athlete claimed year-end Big Ten honors either indoors or outdoors since its inception in 1988.
» Cartwright twice broke the school record in the weight throw en route to the Big Ten title in the event and earned a national runner-up finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Indoor track and field may have ended its 2017 season at last weekend's NCAA Championships, but the accolades keep on rolling in for star University of Michigan men's thrower Grant Cartwright.
The breakthrough weight thrower can now add Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year to his long list of achievements, as the conference announced its 2017 year-end honorees Thursday afternoon (March 16).
"You'd have to say he definitely exceeded expectations this year," men's head coach Jerry Clayton said. "No coach is going to come in and think that someone is going to improve nearly 11 feet in an event, but it's a credit to him and the hard work that he's put in over the past two years.
His Field Athlete of the Year award -- the first ever in Michigan history -- is just the latest honor for the junior from Powell, Ohio. No male Wolverine field event athlete, indoors or outdoors, had ever won the Field Athlete of the Year award or the singular Athlete of the Year award that was handed out prior to 2007.
The overall award dates back to the 1990 season indoors and the 1988 season outdoors.
"It's really a credit that we're coming back to being a balanced program," Clayton said. "We feel that's what is going to make us the most successful as a team, as far as the championships go."
The award goes on a list of Cartwright's 2017 accomplishments that also includes USTFCCCA first team All-America honors in a national runner-up weight throw finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, a Big Ten title, a new U-M record and a USTFCCCA Great Lakes Field Athlete of the Year award.
All of these came as Cartwright added an astonishing 3.30 meters -- nearly 11 feet -- to his career best in the event, topping out with a school-record 23.31m (76-5.75) throw to win the Big Ten title.
"You look at the volume of throws he got in during June, July and August, and that's what really made the difference in his improvement, and that is what gave him the ability to catch up with some of the athletes who had more experience in that particular event," Clayton said. "It's a credit to him, his dedication and his motivation."
This past Saturday (March 11), he became U-M's highest NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships finisher in a field event since the 1978 season with a runner-up finish in College Station, Texas. His 22.70m (74-5.75) throw was enough to make him the program's best-ever athlete in the event, joining with teammate Joe Ellis as the program's first-ever top-eight weight throw finishers.
Of the seven athletes from Big Ten schools to finish top-eight in field events at NCAAs, Cartwright stood highest on the podium with his runner-up finish. No other field athlete from the conference finished better than fourth in his respective event.
Communications Contact: Kyle Terwillegar
