Central Michigan University Athletics
Blooming Rose Takes His Game International
7/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | MTF
MOUNT PLEASANT — To fully appreciate where Alex Rose is going, one has to understand where he has been.
On the surface, Rose flashed his natural talents in an incredible freshman season that will see him trade in his Maroon and Gold uniform for the Red, White and Blue of Team USA in this week’s International Association of Athletics Federations’ World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
In reality, such accomplishments seemed out of the question as recently as last fall, when he was still learning the rigors of being a Division I student-athlete.
“I felt pretty overwhelmed at the beginning of the year,” Rose said. “I remember our first day of testing pretty clearly where I threw the discus only 149 feet. I knew that I would have to work very hard this year to get myself where I needed to be. My goal at that point was just to throw 165 feet.”
Rose went to work establishing himself with the Chippewas over the following months and experienced some initial success during the indoor track and field season.
Once the outdoor season hit, Rose was immediately able to see the fruits of his labor in the discus. The Ogemaw Heights, Mich., native finished fourth in the competition at the season-opening Raleigh Relays with a throw of 167-6 in his outdoor-collegiate debut.
“I gained a lot of confidence in myself at that first outdoor meet,” Rose said. “I nearly threw 168 feet and my technique was not that great in the competition. I knew I had something to build on from there.”
That throw was a springboard to bigger things for Rose. Three weeks later, the freshman won the event with a throw of 179-8 at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational. In the Chippewas’ final regular-season meet, he launched a career-best 181-3 to win the discus again. The throw placed him firmly on the national leaderboard (38th nationally), qualifying him for the NCAA East Region Preliminary meet.
From there, Rose proved he belonged with the best throwers in the nation by finishing seventh at the prelims to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where he finished 13th (third among freshmen).
“My experience at the regional and national meets helped me prepare for the USA Junior Championships,” Rose said. “I knew I could throw far in big meets after those competitions and I knew that I had it in me to do it again.”
That experience proved invaluable as Rose once again showcased his talents on a national level by finishing runner-up at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a throw of 188-8. The mark earned him a spot on Team USA’s roster at the World Junior Championships this week, where he will compete in the discus on July 23.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to compete for the U.S.,” Rose said. “I am excited to represent my country and do my best to place at this meet. Honestly, it never set in what I was doing until I got the box with my USA uniform. At that point, everything hit me all at once and I realized how lucky I am to get this opportunity.”
It has been nearly a month since Rose’s last competition and rather than rest on his already impressive laurels, he has continued displaying the hard work that saw him go from a sub-150 foot thrower to an international competitor less than a year later.
“I see the down time as a chance to mentally prepare for the meet,” Rose said. “Coach (John) Ridgway has been working hard with me on my technique and I have kept up in the weight room to stay strong and healthy so I can have a good showing this week. I know there is a lot more I have to achieve this season.”
On the surface, Rose flashed his natural talents in an incredible freshman season that will see him trade in his Maroon and Gold uniform for the Red, White and Blue of Team USA in this week’s International Association of Athletics Federations’ World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
In reality, such accomplishments seemed out of the question as recently as last fall, when he was still learning the rigors of being a Division I student-athlete.
“I felt pretty overwhelmed at the beginning of the year,” Rose said. “I remember our first day of testing pretty clearly where I threw the discus only 149 feet. I knew that I would have to work very hard this year to get myself where I needed to be. My goal at that point was just to throw 165 feet.”
Rose went to work establishing himself with the Chippewas over the following months and experienced some initial success during the indoor track and field season.
Once the outdoor season hit, Rose was immediately able to see the fruits of his labor in the discus. The Ogemaw Heights, Mich., native finished fourth in the competition at the season-opening Raleigh Relays with a throw of 167-6 in his outdoor-collegiate debut.
“I gained a lot of confidence in myself at that first outdoor meet,” Rose said. “I nearly threw 168 feet and my technique was not that great in the competition. I knew I had something to build on from there.”
That throw was a springboard to bigger things for Rose. Three weeks later, the freshman won the event with a throw of 179-8 at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational. In the Chippewas’ final regular-season meet, he launched a career-best 181-3 to win the discus again. The throw placed him firmly on the national leaderboard (38th nationally), qualifying him for the NCAA East Region Preliminary meet.
From there, Rose proved he belonged with the best throwers in the nation by finishing seventh at the prelims to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where he finished 13th (third among freshmen).
“My experience at the regional and national meets helped me prepare for the USA Junior Championships,” Rose said. “I knew I could throw far in big meets after those competitions and I knew that I had it in me to do it again.”
That experience proved invaluable as Rose once again showcased his talents on a national level by finishing runner-up at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a throw of 188-8. The mark earned him a spot on Team USA’s roster at the World Junior Championships this week, where he will compete in the discus on July 23.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to compete for the U.S.,” Rose said. “I am excited to represent my country and do my best to place at this meet. Honestly, it never set in what I was doing until I got the box with my USA uniform. At that point, everything hit me all at once and I realized how lucky I am to get this opportunity.”
It has been nearly a month since Rose’s last competition and rather than rest on his already impressive laurels, he has continued displaying the hard work that saw him go from a sub-150 foot thrower to an international competitor less than a year later.
“I see the down time as a chance to mentally prepare for the meet,” Rose said. “Coach (John) Ridgway has been working hard with me on my technique and I have kept up in the weight room to stay strong and healthy so I can have a good showing this week. I know there is a lot more I have to achieve this season.”
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