Knoch graduate Jordan Geist wins NCAA shot put title for Arizona

By: Tribune-Review
Thursday, June 8, 2023 | 1:44 AM

Knoch graduate Jordan Geist ended his college track and field career in the most dramatic fashion possible Wednesday night.

The Arizona senior won the shot put by 2 centimeters on the final throw of his career at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships at Texas.

Geist recorded a throw of 20.70 meters in the fourth round of the finals to stand in second place while Arizona State’s Turner Washington held the lead at 21.04 meters. Geist fouled on his fifth attempt, but on his final chance, he uncorked a throw of 21.06 meters to take the title.

“It feels great,” Geist said. “It was a slow start in the competition, but I was able to build throughout, and on the last throw, I finally got one that was enough to take the lead. Getting it done at the end of the day, that’s all that mattered.”

The outdoor shot put championship was the final missing piece of Geist’s impressive Arizona resume.

Already this season, he was the Pac-12 shot put and hammer throw champion, Pac-12 Men’s Field Athlete of the Year and Penn Relays Athlete of the Meet. He won the Pac-12 shot put title four times.

During this year’s indoor season, Geist won a national championship in the shot put with a throw of 21.15 meters and set a school record at 21.48 meters.

Earlier Wednesday, Geist finished third in the hammer throw with a distance of 75.97 meters. It was a school record and the 14th-best throw in NCAA history.

“I had a personal best in the hammer and then my second-best meet of the year in the shot, so I’m happy with the results,” Geist said.

Geist plans to attempt to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the shot put. He finished seventh in qualifying for the 2021 Tokyo Games.

A 2017 Knoch graduate, Geist won six WPIAL and six PIAA championships in the shot put and discus.

Tags: Knoch