Senior thrower Nate Hunter looks to become Northeastern's second-ever national champion when he vies for the shot put title at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship Friday in Fayetteville, Ark. This season, Hunter has won eight of nine shot put events, including his second-career IC4A Championship and fourth New England crown. Since competing for the Huskies, he has collected 32 shot put titles.

Hunter was most recently named the Northeast region's Male Field Athlete of the Year as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on March 9. He was also listed to the Colonial Athletic Association's Silver Anniversary team for men's track and field.

Northeastern's throwing specialist has competed in the last two NCAA Track & Field Championships, earning All-America honors in both events (the top eight finishers in the shot put earn All-America status).

Hunter's first go-round on the national stage came NCAA Indoor Championship in College Station, Texas on March 14, 2009. He cleared 61'4.75 for seventh place and backed it up with an eighth-place mark of 60'5.0 at the NCAA Outdoor Championship on June 11, 2009 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

He looks to become the Huskies' second-ever national champion on Friday. Northeastern's first and only NCAA champion is Boris Djerassi who won the 1975 NCAA Outdoor Championship with a toss of 225'8 in the hammer throw.

Hunter is scheduled to compete on Friday, March 12 at 2:45 p.m. The University of Arkansas will host the competition at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

Nate Hunter Q&A

What feeling went through your body after you let go of Northeastern's new shot put record at the Boston Indoor Games this year?
“I actually wasn't having the best meet in the world and a lot of times when you think in this event, things don't really go the way you want. You pretty much have to throw how you practice and just let the adrenaline take care of itself. On my fifth throw, a lot the guys started getting the crowd involved and getting a clap going for me to hit a big throw. I actually whiffed on my fifth throw, but I knew I had it in there. I let everything hang out and went nuts on my sixth. The second I hit the finish on that sixth throw – BOOM – I knew it was gone. I didn't have any idea how far and I don't usually throw very well at Harvard, but to have it go that far at Harvard is something that I've wanted to do since my freshman year. It's always been my dream, or anyone's dream, to break the school record or any record of any value. It felt amazing.”

Take everybody through a day when you have a competition – What do you like to do while waiting around for everybody else to compete?
“(Laughs) I usually get loosened up, you know, not as much as a track athlete would, but I do a little bit of stretching. I just do what I normally do in practice. If I normally just throw, I'll just throw. But if I need my body to get into a groove and get the blood going, I'll warm up and get mentally prepared and do some dry drills and that sort of thing.”

What goes through your head when you step into the circle?
“My coach (Joe Donahue) would definitely want me to think of nothing. A lot of people will say when they have their best performance is when they're not thinking at all. When you overanalyze, you put a lot of pressure on yourself, so you know, you're best throw is when you go into your own zone. You don't hear anything around you and you just go. It's really weird. Your best friend, your mother, your father, your coach, anybody can be screaming at you something completely ridiculous and you wouldn't even hear it. It's the ultimate focus when you're doing something like that.”

Even when it looks like you might have a bad day according to your standards, you still usually blow away the competition – What do you credit all of your success to?
“A lot of hard work and a good deal of support from my coaches, trainers and those sorts of people. A lot of times when I step in there, I know I'm going to produce something, whether I'm on or not. That goes to working hard, training, mental toughness and all of those sorts of traits. If I'm not on all the time, I can still be competitive and that's the way I was brought up. I come from Gloucester, Massachusetts, a town where a lot of people work hard. I mean it's a fishing town! (laughs)”

By now, most people who are involved in the world of track & field know who you are. Do you feed off that and use it as motivation or can that affect your nerves?
“It feels pretty good when you have something like that. I've been kind of established now in the throwing community and people know who I am. I don't mean that in a conceited way or anything, it's more of a sense that you're finally there. That's something you definitely feed off of. Right after I hit that 19.49m throw, it was actually 10 p.m. at night. It was really late and I just saw a couple of people throw their hands up at yell 'How far was that!?' It was funny to me, because in this kind of event and in athletics in general, to have somebody actually acknowledge what we're doing from a complete outside perspective feels really good.”

Who has been your biggest inspiration while competing for Northeastern?
“Oh man, that's a tough question. I would have to say my coach, Joe Donahue. We've been together through thick and thin for years now. We've known each other for so long now, we know one another's every move. When we're at a meet it's business and we both know what I'm capable of. He shows a lot of support for me and we work really well together, so if I'm not throwing well, I'll take a look over at him and I can tell he knows it's in me.”

If you were never introduced to track & field, what sport/activity could you see yourself doing instead?
“If I wasn't throwing? Well, I was an All-State football player in high school so I definitely would've been playing ball. But up in the Northeast, everything is pretty tough and I'm certainly not 6'8 (laughs). But, I loved throwing on the pads and smashing people around (laughs).”

What has been your favorite memory while competing for Northeastern?
“That's a good question. I'd probably have to say breaking the Northeastern record. That was something I really, really wanted to achieve. It just summed everything up that I've worked so hard for, you know? I know Derek Anderson was the former record holder and I had the opportunity to throw and train with him my freshman year. He knows and understands that I've worked really hard. Derek was a tremendous thrower. To be that successful at both shot put and discus and be the record holder in both, I mean he threw almost 200 feet in the discus here. He was an unbelievable thrower and a great guy and he knows that I've worked hard. We're one in the same.”

You have won 32 shot put events for Northeastern and are one of NU's most heavily decorated athletes. What you YOU want your legacy to be when you finish here?
“I just want to be looked at as someone who didn't hold anything back and went 110% every time. A lot of people might not know what I do, but if they know who I am and acknowledge my work ethic and how much time it takes, it's all worth it. All the extra time and sacrifice is worth and it's addicting. Every time that ball goes far, you just want it to go even farther that next time.”

What would it mean for you to become Northeastern's second-ever national champion?
“That would be amazing. It really would. It would take a lot because Ryan Whiting (Arizona State) is the number one guy right now and I would have to put together a monster throw, and a monster throw early. Going back to your earlier question of what was my favorite Northeastern memory; THAT would be my favorite Northeastern memory! It would take absolute mental toughness. I know my strength and it's what I do really well in the ring, and if I don't do it this indoor season, I have one more chance to capture it in the outdoor season.”

You mentioned Ryan Whiting from Arizona State whom you've competed against already this year. You guys have to know each other at this point since you're the first and second ranked shot putter in the NCAA. Do you have any sort of relationship with him?
“Yeah, we actually talk quite a bit at our meets. Throwers are very interested in what other throwers are doing, so we swap stories. He's a funny dude. All those guys at Arizona State are massive and they're all good guys. But yes, we talk quite a bit. We chatted at the last two national championship meets and at the Tyson Invitational this season. He's a guy that's been throwing well since high school. I actually just hit my stride a couple years ago, so Ryan has that edge. He's very consistent. That's why if you put a little pressure on, it might be possible to beat him. He just knows this event really well.”

What are your plans when you finally throw that last ball for the Huskies?
“Hopefully when 2012 rolls around, I can get my stuff together to compete in London at the Summer Olympics. That's my ultimate goal. I would love to be an Olympian and I plan on competing for the USA. I would hopefully train here at Northeastern. The thing is, I don't quite know what I'm ranked in the world right now, but I know the American shot putter are consistently around 68 feet (20.73m) to make the U.S. Olympic team and the top four throwers in the world are from the United States. You have to be in contention to medal to make the U.S. team, so it's very difficult. It's really whoever puts it together at the trial.”

Nate Hunter's 32 winning marks in the shot put from most recent to earliest:

2009-10
(1) IC4A Indoor Championship – 18.00m (59'0.75)
(2) New England Indoor Championship – 18.38m (60'3.75)
(3) Battle of Beantown – 17.88m (58'8)
(4) Boston Indoor Games – 19.49m (63'11.50) – SCHOOL RECORD
(5) Harvard Invitational – 19.37m (63'6.75)
(6) Dartmouth Relays – 18.98m (62'3.25)
(7) Harvard Open – 17.97m (58'11.50)
(8) Jay Carisella Track & Field Invitational – 18.19m (59'8.25)

2008-09
(9) New England Outdoor Championship – 18.80m (61'8.25)
(10) CAA Championship – 18.55m (60'10.50) – CAA RECORD
(11) Solomon Husky Invitational – 18.35m (60'2.50)
(12) Texas Relays – 18.76m (61'6.75)
(13) USF Quad Meet – 18.33m (61'6.25)
(14) IC4A Indoor Championship – 18.62m (61'1.25)
(15) New England Indoor Championship – 18.33m (60'1.75)
(16) Colonial Invitational – 18.26m (59'11)
(17) Battle of Beantown – 18.22m (59'9.50)
(18) Boston Indoor Games – 17.66m (57'11.25)
(19) Great Dane Classic – 18.28m (59'11.75)
(20) Harvard Open – 18.22m (59'9.50)
(21) Husky Winter Carnival – 18.12m (59'5.5)

2007-08
Redshirted. Did not compete in any meets.

2006-07
(22) CAA Championship – 16.63m (54'6.75)
(23) Solomon Invitational – 16.82m (55'2.25)
(24) Snowflake Classic – 16.46m (54'0)
(25) Northeastern Spring Open – 16.16m (53'0.25)
(26) New England Indoor Championship – 16.87m (55'4.25)
(27) Boston Indoor Games – 16.95m (55'7.50)
(28) Great Dane Classic – 17.18m (56'4.25)
(29) Harvard Dual Meet – 16.99m (55'8.75)
(30) Husky Winter Carnival – 16.26m (53'4.25)

2005-06
(31) CAA Championship – 16.43m (53'11)
(32) Solomon Husky Invitational – 15.56m (51'0.75)