‘All going up’: Auburn’s Megan Hague just broke the school record in shot put — then broke it again. Next she has her eyes on the podiums at SECs and NCAAs
Hague's throws have gone farther and farther all spring, and she now has the nation's third-best mark in indoor shot put. Here's a look at what's gotten into her, and her championship aspirations.
Somewhere behind her thick retro frames, and somewhere underneath her spreading collection of tattoos, Megan Hague has found new strength.
Auburn’s senior in the shot put broke the school’s record, then broke it again, in her last two meets — with her most recent mark thrown at Clemson last Saturday crossing the 60-foot mark and standing as the nation’s third-best throw recorded this indoor season.
Her throws keep going farther and farther, putting her in a strong position to try to podium at the SEC indoor championships next weekend, and even to podium at the national indoor championships in March.
“It’s all going up,” Hague said with a smile, at Auburn’s track facility on Thursday. Yes indeed — she figures a lot of it has to do with what’s going on behind those glasses, between her ears, as well as with her muscles.
“I understand it more,” she explained. “And I ask so many questions: It’s like, ‘OK, I’m doing this, but why?’ And so it’s like now I know why. It’s kind of changing my view, I guess, of all this stuff.”
Hague threw it 18.42 meters last weekend, or 60-feet-5.25. On Jan. 31 (also at Clemson, incidentally), she threw it 18.27 meters, or 59-feet-11.25 — which broke Auburn’s school record set in 2013 by Valentina Muzaric at 17.89 meters.
She raised the record at Auburn crossing the 18-meter mark, then broke her own record to raise it again crossing the 60-foot mark — a milestone she’d eyed for a long time.
“I finally got over the 60-foot barrier, which is kind of nice for me — because I’ve been, throw after throw after throw, ‘I’ve got to get one,’” she shook her head. “So, yeah, 60-footer, and hoping for more than that.”
Sitting in conversation, Hague is excited about where her season is headed. She speaks with a lot of respect toward other shot putters around the country, many of whom stand taller than her and have a longer wingspan behind her throw. But it’s clicking for her right now, and this might just be her year.
As a sophomore, she went to the outdoor NCAA Championships and finished 12th, and last year made it back and went 13th. That was good enough to earn her second-team All-American status — awarded to the ninth-through-16th finishers at NCAAs — but this season the Tigers figure she can make the top eight, put points on the board for her team, and cap her career as a first-team All-American.
“She’s really stepped it up, and I’m really proud of her,” Auburn head coach Leroy Burrell said. “I’ve been to a couple of NCAA Championships with her and I think she was disappointed with her performance. She started early this year, and she’s been very consistent, has improved throughout the year. And she just needs to put a big one out there when it matters most.”