By JASON KETZ
Sports Editor
(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Senior thrower Heavin Warner ended her final home meet of her career in record-setting fashion as she won both the weight throw and the shot put at the UCM Classic this past weekend.

With a weight throw of 70-8.5 Warner set a new school and Multipurpose Building record, beating her previous school record by a full two feet and is just the second thrower in Division II this season to have a mark of over 70 feet this season.

“My goal was to hit 70 feet,” Warner said. “In that final throw technically I did a lot of things wrong but I had a really good finish, and I knew it was far but didn’t know it was going to be that far.”

Tucker Woolsey, track and field throwing coach, said he knew Warner’s goal was going to be a far throw.

“I knew that it was going to be a personal record or very close to it,” he said.

Kip Janvrin, co-head track and field coach, said Warner loves to compete and win.

“The dedication and extra work she puts in to get better is something she will need to continue because our conference has got a lot of great throwers for her to compete against,” Janvrin said.

Warner has been winning since before she came to UCM. In high school while attending St. Joe Benton High School, Warner was All-State in the shot put while competing in several other events on the track. She also lettered in cross-country, soccer, softball and received honorable mention All-Conference placekicker on the football team.

“I originally wanted to go play college soccer,” Warner said. “I talked to my track coach but he told me that my future was in track and I took it to heart.”

During Warner’s freshman season in 2011-12, she competed at the indoor MIAA championships and placed seventh in the weight throw and 12 in the shot put. In the outdoor season, Warner placed fourth in the hammer throw, eighth in the shot put and 11 in the discus at the MIAA championships.

“It was a great experience to place on that level of competition,” Warner said. “It was really something I was expecting to do to place in all three events at the outdoor championships.”

After redshirting during the 2012-13 season, Warner came back as a redshirt sophomore and qualified for the indoor national championships in the weight throw. Warner became an All-American for the first time after placing fourth with a mark of 61’5 after winning the event at the MIAA championships.

Warner qualified for the outdoor national championships in the hammer throw, shot put and discus. She won her first national championship in the hammer throw with a mark of 207’, which helped her become the first Jennie to win a national title in the event. She also became an All-American in the discus after a fifth-place finish while finishing in the top 20 in shot put.

“It was worth it to win the national championship,” Warner said. “It didn’t go as planned after fouling the first two attempts but was able to qualify for the finals in my final throw and I was able to build on that throw to get better each throw.”

Last season as a redshirt junior, Warner again repeated as indoor MIAA champion in both the weight throw and the shot put. She competed at the indoor national championships and placed second in the weight throw setting a new personal best and school record with a mark of 68’6, while placing 12 in the shot put.

In the outdoor season, she broke the school record in the discus at the Sam Williams Twilight Qualifier with a mark of 180’4 while also recording the second best mark in program history in the shot put at 49’11. Warner defended her outdoor MIAA title in the hammer throw, while adding titles in the discus and shot put, which tied her with teammate Erika Kinsey for the MIAA High Point Award. This award is given to the athlete that scores the most points at the conference championships.

At the outdoor national championships, she defended her national title in the hammer throw with a mark of 211’1, while also competing in the shot put, placing 10 and in the discus placing 20. Warner went on to compete at the USA National Championships where she placed 12th in the weight throw with a mark of 205’7.

“It was crazy to think that I was on that level of amazing athletes that have been training for several years,” Warner said. “Getting the opportunity to watch these girls throw and throw myself was a very humbling experience.”

After her junior season, Warner received several honors becoming a Capital One All- American, United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Regional Field Athlete of the Year and was a finalist for the Ken B. Jones Award, which is presented to the best female athlete in the MIAA conference.

During this indoor season, Warner has won both the weight throw and shot put in all but one meet this season. Warner and her teammates are getting ready for the MIAA championships, which are set to begin Friday at the Robert W. Plaster Center at Pittsburg State University, the sight for the indoor national championships March 11-12.

“My goal is to do the best that I can,” Warner said. “I have a lot of training under my belt and I have confidence that it is going to turn out well.”