Hunter Wallster has established himself as a rising star in track and field in this province.
Now he’s going to have a chance to showcase his talents in the U.S.
Wallster has committed to play for the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Jackrabbits, a Division 1 school in the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s (NCAA) Summit League. He’ll compete in the hammer throw, the weight throw and the discus disciplines for the Jackrabbits.
“I’m super pumped to be competing in the NCAA. That’s always been my goal to compete in the NCAA,” Wallster told the Mercury.
The Jackrabbits have a very strong, up and coming track and field program, which he found appealing. Four of their junior athletes are strong, too.
“They’ve had somebody attend the NCAA nationals every single year. From what I’ve seen from the upcoming athletes, it looks like there should be a couple this year as well.”
Facilities at the school are outstanding. SDSU has a 300-metre indoor track, which is pretty big for an indoor facility, and that will allow him to work on the hammer toss year-round. They’re also constructing a new hammer toss building and a new weight room.
It also helps that South Dakota State is relatively close to his home.
“With it only being a 10-hour drive from home, I’ll be able to come home a little more often. I will also be able to have my parents come and watch me whenever I’m in North Dakota.”
North Dakota State University is among the teams in the Jackrabbits conference.
He plans to study mechanical engineering, with the goal of eventually working for a robotics firm. Then he would go back to school for graduate studies in robotic sciences.
The strength of the mechanical engineering department is one of the reasons he chose SDSU.
“They are among, I believe, the top 20 engineering schools in the States,” said Wallster.
A scholarship has been a dream since he started competing in track and field in May 2017, but it didn’t seem realistic until May of last year, when he came within 90 centimetres of the provincial record in discus.
Wallster believes the hammer throw is likely his strongest event, although he has won provincial titles in all three disciplines, and he won a bronze medal at nationals in the discus. He came in fourth in the hammer throw and sixth in the weight toss at nationals. Wallster is in the top five in the country for both the hammer throw and discus, but he’s also in the top 200 in the world in the hammer.
At provincials this past spring, he won gold in the discus, finishing more than five metres ahead of his closest competitor. He also won a silver medal in the shot put.
The track and field program at ECS and the programs that exist in the community played a big role in his development as an athlete as well.
He will be working to add strength and weight before the start of next season.
Wallster is pleased to have the scholarship in place with about six months remaining in his Grade 12 year. It removes a lot of stress about trying to find a university, and now he can focus on the high school track and field season in the spring.
Several other schools were interested in him, including one in North Carolina that he visited and another in Pennsylvania. But ultimately SDSU won out.
“I believe this program has a lot more solid of a coaching than the other two, and the facilities are better, too.”
