Ott announced as Lopes throws coach

The Grand Canyon track and field team brightened its throwing program's future by naming Nathan Ott as its throws coach.

"Nathan Ott is one of the finest young throws coaches in the nation, and I am thrilled to have him join my outstanding coaching staff," GCU head coach Tom Flood said.

Ott, a Utah native, recently coached professional thrower Brooke Anderson to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she placed 10th in the hammer throw. She is ranked fifth for the best women's hammer thrower of all-time, and second best in the U.S. at 78.18 meters. Ott also coached professional thrower Darian Brown to this year's top-12 American list in discus (61.72 meters).

Ott comes from Kansas State, where he was the assistant track and field coach since 2018. In three years of working with the Wildcats, Ott coached seven All-Americans in women's outdoor shot put, men's indoor shot put, women's hammer throw, women's discus and men's discus. He also coached four Big 12 champions and multiple runner-up finishers. In 2019, he was named the Midwest Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year.

Previously, Ott worked at Northern Arizona as the assistant coach from 2014-18. He coached another seven All-Americans there in women's hammer, men's hammer, women's weight and women's discus. Ott coached Anderson to her runner-up title in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships, as well as Adam Keenan, who was a two-time Canadian national champion in the hammer throw and placed fourth in the Commonwealth Games. He had a total of 16throwers qualify for the NCAA preliminaries in his time at NAU.
Nathan Ott

"I have witnessed firsthand all the success he had at NAU and know he will have an immediate impact on the continued improvements of our talented throws group," Flood said.

Ott graduated from Southern Utah with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and a coaching emphasis in 2007.

Ott holds the Southern Utah record in the hammer throw and ranks fifth in the shot put. He placed ninth at the 2007 West Division Regional Championships in hammer throw. In 2006, Ott qualified for regionals in hammer throw and was the leading scorer in a team victory at the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also holds the Cedar High School records in shot put and discus.

"I know I can speak for myself, my assistant coaches and our athletes, that we are truly excited to have Nathan in our GCU track and field family," Flood said.

The track and field team will finish moving back to campus this week to begin training for the 2022 indoor and outdoor seasons.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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