Garrett Garza qualifies in shot put for 2020 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships

SEGUIN, Texas -- Texas Lutheran senior Garrett Garza will compete for an indoor national title in the shot put at 2 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. CDT) Saturday at the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships.

 

The championships will be held March 13-14 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Visit Winston-Salem and Guilford College serving as hosts.

 

Garza was one of the 20 shot putters to qualify for the national championship event. He qualified third nationally with a season-best throw of 57 feet, 11-3/4 inches (17.67 meters).

The two throwers ranked ahead of Garza - Tony DeYoung of Brockport and Alex Scott of the University of Chicago - have thrown 58-7 1/4 and 58-0 1/4, respectively. Garza, DeYoung and Scott are all seniors.

Garza was an indoor national All-American in 2019. He placed eighth overall. Garza went to the 2019 outdoor national championships in the shot put and finished as the national runnerup.

Garza already has used four seasons of his outdoor eligibility. This weekend, he will compete for the final time as a collegiate student-athlete. This is his fourth year of indoor track & field competition.

 

"Garrett is going to the NCAAs with high hopes," said Darlene Holland, TLU's head coach for men's and women's indoor/outdoor track & field. "All season long his focus has been to go for the national championship in his event."

"He outright won the event in this short indoor season at both the Texas A&M meet and the Big Meet Saturday at NCAA Division 2 powerhouse Grand Valley State University. He is a nominee for the Regional Field Athlete of the Year as well for the South/Southeast Region. He leads the region by over eight feet in the shot put."

For each men's individual event contested, including the heptathlon, the top 20 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition.

For each women's individual event contested, including the pentathlon, the top 20 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition.

For each relay event contested, the top 12 declared relay teams, one per institution, were accepted into the competition.

Event 30  Men Shot Put
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     Name                        Year School            Seed Mark           
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  1  Tony DeYoung                  SR Brockport St         17.86mD
  2  Alex Scott                    SR U. of Chicag         17.68mD
  3  Garrett Garza                 SR Texas Luther         17.67mD
  4  Kevin Ruechel                 JR Wis.-Stout           17.63mD
  5  Josh Miller                   JR Capital              17.35mD
  6  Joe Martin                    JR Hamline              17.32mD
  7  Alex Boehlen                  FR Wis.-Eau Cla         17.31mD
  8  Jackson Sheckler              SO Wis.-Oshkosh         17.20mD
  9  Aaron Austin                  JR Carthage             17.17mD
 10  Drew Thaxton                  JR Monmouth (Il         17.15mD
 11  Nick Tegtmeier                SR Wis.-Oshkosh         17.00mD
 12  Edward Dennerlein             SR Stockton             16.95mD
 13  Sean Sherman                  SR Mount Union          16.83mD
 14  Clayton Hahn                  SO Dubuque              16.72mD
 15  Josh Mathis                   SR Augustana (I         16.46mD
 16  Jacob Smith                   JR Olivet               16.36mD
 17  Lucas Cooper                  SR Mount Union          16.35mD
 18  Daniel Graf                   JR Wis.-La Cros         16.33mD
 19  Christian Pillath             SR Wis.-Superio         16.32mD
 20  Steven Orzolek                SO Gustavus Ado         16.31mD