Roberts medals at nationals to become household name

TXST TRACK AND FIELD

A year after qualifying for nationals as a freshman, sophomore Lara Roberts made her way back to Eugene, not only qualifying but earning a spot on the podium, taking third place.

Though she was an unknown the season before, Roberts has established herself as the top hammer thrower in the nation.

“Last year when I made the NCAA [Outdoor Championships, I was the underdog,” Roberts said. “That was my first regionals. I was happy that I’d made it that far and was just going out, having fun, doing what I needed to do. This year, I was trying to make sure that I qualify … Whatever happens on the day, three throws and that’s it.”

Going into the 2025 season, Roberts main focus was patience and improving her technique.

“A lot of it was just being more patient with my throw and just knowing that I can do it,” Roberts said. “It was all there last season, [but] it finally clicked this season. I’ve been working with Coach Frasier, working on technique, trying to get it to where it needs to be, and it’s paid off.”

Roberts then talked about the importance of being patient in the hammer throw and how it can affect a throw.

“The big thing is that if you can be patient when you’re entering your throw, when you’re doing your winds, the two that you’re swinging around your head first, the more patient you are with that entry, the more you’re connected and the speed will increase,” Roberts said. “That’s sort of what’s been happening to my throws.”

However, Roberts faced some challenges, mainly the switch from the indoor season to the outdoor season.

“At the start of the season coming out of indoor, it was difficult to transition from the heavier, the weight throw,” Roberts said. “Last year it wasn’t as big of a deal, and we didn’t have as much training inside on the weight throw.

This year we had a bit more, so coming off the weight throw into hammer throw, that was a bit difficult for me. But ultimately, what we did, the work that we did on the weight helped transfer into what we were working on. Once I got that transition sorted and really applied what we were doing, it helped in the long run.”

Roberts overcame the transition from the weight throw to the hammer throw to have a successful outdoor season.

After setting a personal best at the Mt. SAC Relays, Roberts then won the Sun Belt Conference title in the hammer throw, throwing 225-10 to bring home the gold medal.

Following the conference meet, Roberts then took fourth place at West Regional Meet to punch her ticket to nationals.

It was a difficult meet for Roberts who had to over- come the pressure of making it back to nationals after entering the event with one of the highest marks.

“Regionals this year was a bit nerve racking,” Roberts said. “Obviously, going in with a high ranking, it’s new pressure that I haven’t felt before. So the whole point for us was just get through to the NCAA [Outdoor Championships and improve from there].”

And improve she did. After placing fourth at regionals, Roberts took home the bronze medal in the hammer throw at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, throwing 231 feet even. Roberts became just the third Bobcat in history to medal in the hammer throw, and the third in the last four years following Alyssa Wilson in 2022 who placed 2nd and Elisabet Runarsdottir in 2024 who won 1st place.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc