EUGENE, Ore. — Making it to nationals is the goal. With it comes the glare of competition among the best in the country, but it doesn't always mean a competitor will be at their best.
Those were the emotions Mountain West discus champion Klaire Kovatch was struggling to come to grips with on Saturday. The senior — who has another year of eligibility remaining — fouled on all three of her attempts at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field, each coming with an out-of-character foot fault.
That was the particular sticking point which was hard for her, because she couldn't ascertain why or how it happened. On this, of all days.
"I think it's just a good learning experience, and there's nothing wrong with getting a look at what the championships are all about," Kovatch said. "For sure, it's a hard thing to take away at the end of the day, but I can honestly say I gave it what I had today. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough.
"I just look forward to working well with (CSU coach Brian) Bedard and try again next year. I'm going to go enjoy the summer and take some time to reflect on what went right for me today and what went right this season."
Both layers will be important to peel back. Bedard will start with the film to match it with what he saw with his own eyes, then he'll go over the training plan, not just in the leadup to the meet, but the entire season.
It was something he did with Mya Lesnar last year after she placed fifth in the shot put the season before, altering her entire season as she returned to win the title. The veteran coach knew how his thrower felt, and he wasn't about to put her performance all on her.
"She needs to be more consistent leading up to this meet. After conference, her practices, technically we've been in and out of stuff," he said. "You just can't be inconsistent coming here with the kind of pressure there is.
"We'll look at how we trained her. I'm not putting this all on Klarie. I need to have her prepared when she comes here. We'll look at strength training and her function; she's had some issues with her hips. We'll look at the technical model we're doing and some of the things she struggled with here and tweak it and change it. We always want to learn from our tough competitions."
Kovatch put most of her focus on the discus this year, giving up the javelin altogether, an event she ranks fifth in at the school. By doing so, she qualified for nationals in the discus for the second time (the first in 2023), and moved her way up to seventh on the CSU list with a personal-best throw of 190 feet.
She made improvement through the season, eventually securing a conference title and her spot in the national field.
It's the place she wanted her season to finish. Her honorable mention All-American showing just wasn't the finish she wanted.
Even still, the pride of the entirety of the campaign cannot be erased on one day, by one performance.
"Absolutely. I'm beyond blessed for sure, and even just to be here is a whirlwind and amazing in itself," Kovatch said. "Even though I feel disappointed today, overall, I had an amazing season. I'm so very proud of that."
Kovatch was a three time Class C state discus champion in high school and helped Seeley-Swan to an overall team title in 2021. She was the 2021 Gatorade girls track and field athlete of the year for Montana in 2021.
