Josh Freeman gets it rolling

freeman

After setting a Missouri Valley Championship outdoor record of 19.86m last spring, Southern Illinois putter Josh Freeman showed up for fall training ready to begin his assault on the venerable 20-meter mark.

Unfortunately, injury problems in the late fall have him, by his estimate, five weeks behind in his training.

Not a comfortable situation during a year in which it may well take somewhere in the mid-19 meter range  to qualify for the NCAA indoor championships.

This past weekend, though, Josh showed that he is catching up quickly as he hit a season-best 19.40m at the Fred Wilt Invitational hosted by Purdue University.

John Smith, Josh’s coach at SIU, said that in the week leading up to the Purdue meet Josh threw 56’8″ with a 20-pound shot, 61’2′ with an 18-pound shot, 65’8″ with a 15-pounder, and 69′ with a 6k.

Josh says that his bench and squat numbers are up 5-8% from last year, and that his hang cleans are up almost 15%.

In terms of technique, he has been concentrating on staying back more in the middle of the ring and giving his legs a chance to do more work.

Josh will compete this weekend at Eastern Illinois University in an effort to clinch a spot at the NCAA’s.

 

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