AUSTIN- A 2008 Olympian, NCAA Indoor National Champion, seven All-America honors, and five Big 12 titles. Those are just some of the shot put accomplishments that Texas Ex Michelle Carter and current All-American junior Jordyn Brown have achieved at Texas. It’s a mighty order to stand up to, but freshman Amanda Van Dyke appears to be on the right track. The newcomer out of Pflugerville, Texas already has an All-Big 12 honor to her name after placing seventh at the league’s indoor championships meet in March. In College Station, Van Dyke recorded a personal-best throw of 49-3 (15.01m), almost four feet farther than her previous personal best. Following in Brown’s footsteps, Van Dyke has posted NCAA regional qualifying marks in every event but one this outdoor season and is heading into this week’s 2009 Big 12 Outdoor Championships  looking to add another All-Big 12 accolade to her resume.
On her goals heading into the Big 12 Outdoor Championships: She mentions her “No. 1 goal is to score. I want to make All-Big 12 again because it would be a really big accomplishment. It was a really big accomplishment at indoor because I wasn’t expected to score then. So I want to go in with that same goal this weekend. This meet, I really want to PR, get 50 feet and that would lead me into regionals and hopefully get me to nationals.” On training with junior All-American Jordyn Brown: Jordyn really inspires me to go out there and do well. She makes practice and training much more fun and really uplifts the atmosphere at practice.       (Photo credits: UT Web site)

Jordyn Brown


Amanda Van Dyke