Knoch grad Jordan Geist claims NCAA indoor shot put title for Arizona

When Jordan Geist was in high school, track and field athletes competing at the same meet would stop what they were doing to watch the brawny kid from Knoch send shot puts into orbit.

Jordan is about to throw. Get a good spot.

“Back up,” meet officials would yell before the record-breaking Geist went into his violent, twisting spin.

They are still lining the pits to get an eye on Geist, who is a freshly crowned NCAA champion and All-American at Arizona.

The red-bearded senior won a national title with a heave of 69 feet, 4.75 inches Saturday at the NCAA finals in Albuquerque, N.M.

It didn’t challenge his school record of 70-5.75, but it was good enough to clinch a title.

“It’s been a great experience,” Geist told the Arizona web team. “Opened up with a good throw and luckily it was good enough to hold on for the win.”

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Jordan wins the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a throw of 21.15m (69-4.75)!#BearDown | #BeLezoLike pic.twitter.com/0aHduJUjpw

— Arizona Track & Field/Cross Country (@ArizonaTrack) March 12, 2023

National Champion Views????⬇️#BearDown | #BeLezoLike pic.twitter.com/tFfHNcQN03

— Arizona Track & Field/Cross Country (@ArizonaTrack) March 12, 2023

The top seed in the shot, Geist led the event from his first throw of the day. He also earned All-American honorable mention status in the weight throw.

“I don’t believe anyone deserves anything that they don’t work for,” Arizona coach Fred Harvey said on arizonawildcats.com. “I personally was a part of Jordan’s in-home recruitment and the expectations from the track and field world were over the top before him even leaving high school. Jordan never backed down from the challenge, and now he can call himself a national champion! He has a forever place on my office wall.”

The man who once broke a world record while wearing a Taylor Swift T-shirt, Geist won the hammer throw at the New Balance Outdoor Championships with a mark of 238 feet, the third-best throw in U.S. history.

His mark of 72-3 remains a Pan American Junior games record.

He is the Wildcats’ first indoor national champion since Lawi Lalang in 2013.

Geist has a number of PAC-12 accolades, including field athlete of the year in 2021, ‘19, and ‘18. He also has been proficient in the discus throughout his career.

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Proud of our three Wildcats who gave it their all this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships! #BearDown | #BeLezoLike pic.twitter.com/TYm6Ft375c

— Arizona Track & Field/Cross Country (@ArizonaTrack) March 12, 2023