It’s been quite the weekend for the Wisconsin Badgers, with athletes both currently in school and those trying to get a spot in the big leagues.
The events ran the gamut of football at the combine, indoor track and field, women’s and men’s hockey and Big 10 basketball. Let’s start with the most impressive milestone of the weekend.
We don’t usually cover track and field, especially indoor track and field, on a regular basis. Perhaps we should. Michael Lihrman is a 6-foot-5 senior from Rice Lake, Wis. who now owns 5 of 7 and 7 of 10 of the best weight throws in collegiate history, including the NCAA Division 1 record breaker on Friday.
The weight throw is an indoor event while its sister event, the hammer throw is most often seen during the summer Olympics. The best hammer tosses are over 80 meters, a little long for an indoor facility. Lihrman’s new weight record is 81-feet 8 3/4 inches (24.91 meters). He bested his own record of 8-3.5 not once, but five times.
Michael. Lihrman.
— Wisconsin Track & Field (@BadgerTrackXC) February 20, 2015
The #Badgers senior posts 81ft, 8 3/4in (24.91m) in the weight throw, topping his own NCAA record. pic.twitter.com/A7KNyfg7IK
Lihrman held the Big 10 record before his throw, set a new record with his second, and bested his previous record over and over and over again. I don’t know of another type of sport accomplishment to compare that to. He moved up to No. 4 in the US all-time list, No. 13 in the world. with the world’s best distance of the year so far.
The Big 10 indoor championships are Feb. 27-28 in Geneva, Ohio. On Wisconsin!
The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team beat some team that keeps wanting to play them and has horrible colors the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday, 63-53. Frank Kaminsky scored a game-high 21 points and Bronson Koenig kept doing great things with 17 points, including 6 of 6 free throws, but Gasser had the big milestone.
Gasser became just the second Badger to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists. Longtime Mavs and Spurs shooting guard and small forward Michael Finley was the first. Gasser finished with seven points as No. 5 Wisconsin improved to 25-2 and 13-1 in the Big 10.
The Badgers can win a share of the Big 10 regular season title with a victory over Maryland on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
Unlike the men’s team, which won its fourth game of the season on Friday, the women’s team is ranked No. 4 in the country and is in second place behind No. 2 Minnesota in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Standings.
At the time of this post, Wisconsin (23-6-4) is up 4-0 late in the second period over St. Cloud State University in its regular-season finale. The Badgers face a three-game series with SCSU to open the WCHA playoffs on Feb. 27. UPDATE: Badgers won 5-0.
The Badgers have a goal differential of +73 and average 3.4 goals per game and are flat-out crazy good on power plays, scoring 24 while holding opponents to just four.
Melvin Gordon runs with the ball in a drill during the 2015 NFL Combine. Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Gordon ran 4.52 and 4.53 40-yard dash times at the 2015 NFL Combine. Michigan State’s Jeremy Langford took the top speed of 4.43, but we all knew Gordon wasn’t blazing straight-line runner. Put Gordon in pads and he is downright tough to bring down.
Which is why lateral quickness is important. When Gordon gets stuffed bad things usually happen — a run is stopped for no gain or some defender goes hard after the ball and he fumbles (but not often and usually in bad weather). But get Gordon to sidestep and get to the second level, forget it, he’s gone.
Gordon benched 225 pounds 19 times (three more than Rob Havenstein) and had a great overall workout getting compared to Jamaal Charles (running style) and Marshawn Lynch (measurables). He also straight-up killed it in the 60-yard shuttle. His 11 seconds flat was the fastest time in any position since 2006. He also finished second in the 20-yard shuttle (4.07) and third in the broad jump (126 inches).