NCAA Championship Preview: Lonnie Pugh
6/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
June 5, 2009
Complete Interview with Coach Newell and Lonnie Pugh
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State track & field team has had arguably its best overall season, both indoor and outdoor, since director of track & field Walt Drenth took over the program in 2006. The hard work and dedication of the coaching staff and the student-athletes culminated at the NCAA Mideast Regional last weekend as the Spartans qualified six student-athletes - at least one from every area of competition - for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, which will be held June 10-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.
The six qualifying student-athletes - Nicole Bush, Kyron Foster, Jeremy Orr, Sarah Price, Lonnie Pugh and Lisa Senakiewich - are the most for the Spartans since Drenth has been at the helm of the program. This is the first of a four-part series that will highlight the accomplishments of each of the qualifying Spartans.
Today, we will take a look at the journey of true freshman Lonnie Pugh, who is the first-ever thrower to win a Big Ten title for the Spartans on the men's side. MSUSpartans.com recently caught up with Pugh and MSU throws coach John Newell to talk about Pugh's journey to the top of the Big Ten Conference and his berth to the NCAA Championships. Click here to listen to the interview with both Pugh and Coach Newell and below is a feature on Pugh's experience as a first-year NCAA qualifier.
Before Michigan State throws coach John Newell was working with the Spartans, he was training at Ashland University - a mid-sized university in Ashland, Ohio - with his mentor Jud Logan, a four-time Olympian. During his time at Ashland, Newell and Logan traveled to a small throwing camp where one thrower immediately caught Newell's attention. It was a soft-spoken 6-6, 230-pound high school sophomore from Grosse Ile, Mich. Despite not being a coach just yet, Newell was immediately impacted by what he saw out of the Michigan native.
"I remember seeing Lonnie at that camp and I was very impressed with him then," Newell commented. "I was throwing (at the camp) and I had no idea that I was going to be at Michigan State when I was, but the process of bringing Lonnie to Michigan State started then."
Ultimately, after his time at Ashland, Coach Newell ended up at Michigan State after director of track & field Walt Drenth hired him as the throws coach. It did not take long for that 6-6, 230-pound thrower from Grosse Ile to once again catch Newell's eye. As he was going through his desk during his first week on the job, Newell came across an old recruiting questionnaire that had been filled out by Lonnie Pugh. Having remembered seeing him at camp back in the day, Newell knew that he needed to call and set up a visit with Pugh.
 Pugh first caught Coach Newell's attention during his sophomore year of high school.  | |
"At first, I heard that the old coach left, so I thought that Michigan State had forgotten about me," Pugh said. "I didn't really even look this way after that, but as I started to talk to Coach Newell, I felt better and was happy that Michigan State was looking at me again. I always wanted to go here, so when he called me, it definitely peaked my interest again."
Pugh was a highly-touted recruit that competed at Grosse Ile High School. A three-sport athlete during high school, Pugh brought with him a career-best discus throw of 56.99m (187-0), which still stands as the Grosse Ile High School record. He was the Michigan State Discus Champion in 2006 and was third in 2007. Despite his success at the Michigan State Championships in 2006 and 2007, his most remarkable performance during high school was during 2008. After suffering an injury to his hand while playing basketball, Pugh was forced to throw left handed after his dominant right hand was in a splint for more than a month.
"I still to this day don't know what was wrong with my wrist; all the doctor told me was that there were ligaments that were messed up," Pugh said about his ailing right hand. "I talked to my coach and he asked me if I was going to throw and he just said `throw left handed.' I guess my competitive side came out and I went out and tried to throw. I just made progression each meet and it definitely showed me that passion that I have for track & field and I am glad that I had that experience."
That passion for the sport was something that immediately drew the attention of Coach Newell when Pugh arrived at Michigan State. Despite being a true freshman, the throwers - on both the men's and women's side - looked up to Pugh while his work ethic, dedication and abilities seemed to make everyone around him better. Pugh was placed in a setting where his teammates and coaching staff treated him like family.
"On my recruiting visit, I noticed all of my (future) teammates and they were giving off a very positive vibe," Pugh said. "I came in on a practice day and saw how hard everyone was working and that motivated me. I always wanted to be part of a team that felt more like a family, instead of being an individual; we all get along really well. I don't think that there is a day that goes by where I don't talk to my teammates outside of practice."
 Pugh as emerged as one of the leaders of the throwing unit. | |
Pugh currently ranks 10th in the nation in the discus with a school-record mark of 58.65m (192-5) heading into the NCAA Championships and he is the first Spartan thrower on the men's side to win a Big Ten Championship. All of these accolades could have been put on hiatus as Pugh redshirted during the indoor season and the plan was to keep that redshirt tag on him during the outdoor season as well. But as Pugh progressed, Coach Newell decided to give him a chance to compete in a Spartan uniform during the outdoor slate.
"The biggest thing that I saw in him, he started to really come on toward the end of the fall," Coach Newell commented. "By redshirting and having him compete unattached, I wanted to see what it was like for him to travel and what it was like to compete against guys in the Big Ten. I think it was the right move and I have no regrets at all."
Pugh spent the indoor season watching his teammate Beth Rohl win the first-ever Big Ten Championship for the throwers as she claimed the indoor weight throw title. Watching Rohl, who was also a true freshman, win Big Tens was something that fueled Pugh's fire and was one of the reasons that the redshirt was lifted from him heading into the outdoor season.
"Beth impressed me from the first day I saw her and seeing her win a Big Ten Championship, I realized that that was where I wanted to be," Pugh said about his teammate. "I told myself at the Big Ten Championships that I wanted to do the same thing that she had done. I am glad that this season has gone the way that it has for me."
A berth to the NCAA Championships, a fifth-place finish at the Mideast Regional, a Big Ten title and a school record as a true freshman would be enough to satisfy many athletes and coached. But for Coach Newell and Pugh, this season has just been a prelude of what is to come for the true freshman.
 Pugh on the medal podium at the Big Ten Championships | |
"Wherever God takes me, that's where I plan on going," Pugh added. "I am looking forward to the rest of this year and definitely next year and the years to come. This throwing group now and all of the people we have coming in, we are going to have a lot of fun, so I am very excited."
Pugh will begin his competition at the NCAA Championships on Thursday, June 11 at 1 p.m. with the qualifying round in the discus. The finals in the event will be held Saturday, June 13 at 10 a.m. For inside looks at the other five NCAA qualifiers, check back with www.msuspartans.com in the days leading up to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Players Mentioned
