Rebel not thrown for loss

Amanda Bingson admits to having been more than a little apprehensive when UNLV throwing coach Greg Watson first approached her about trying the hammer throw late in her freshman year.

"I had never tried it before, and it wasn't exactly in my comfort zone," the two-time state discus champion from Silverado High School said. "But I trusted Greg and I really had nothing to lose, so I just kind of went for it.

"I'm kind of happy that I did."

Bingson's rise in the event has been nothing short of phenomenal. In the span of a little more than two years, the 5-foot-5-inch, 195-pound junior has gone from throwing novice to Mountain West Conference champion to likely All-American and potential Olympian.

Bingson enters the 2011 Mountain West Conference championships, which run Wednesday through Saturday in Fort Collins, Colo., ranked No. 2 in the nation in the hammer throw with a school-record toss of 229 feet, 0 inches. Only Southern Illinois senior Gwen Berry (231-4) has done it better in NCAA Division I track and field this year, and Bingson is well ahead of defending NCAA champ Nikola Lomnicka of Georgia (212-3).

"Her level of improvement shows just how elite an athlete that she can be," said Watson, a school record-holder in the hammer throw at Southern Utah. "In less than three years she's already competing at a world-class level."

Well, almost.

"The goal all year was 70 meters," Watson said. "Seventy meters for a female hammer thrower is kind of the level that makes you a world-class athlete. Last week she was at 69.79 meters (229-0). You're talking another 8 inches to be at 70 meters. I think we can do better than that now. Hopefully 71 or 72 meters is doable."

Bingson's throw of 69.79 meters already meets the B Standard for 2012 U.S. Olympic Team qualifying. She needs to get to 71.5 meters (234-7) to meet the A Standard that would guarantee her a spot at the 2012 Olympic team trials.

Not bad for someone who admits it took her a couple of weeks of training before she was even able to heave the 8.82-pound metal ball -- attached to an approximately 4-foot-long metal wire and handle -- out of the cage.

"It took me about two weeks before it actually went out into the sector," Bingson recalled. "Before that it was kind of in the net and it was an overall mess, to say the least."

Bingson managed a throw of 141-3½ in her first meet late in her freshman year. However, two months later she shattered Olivia Raya's school record of 174-9 with a heave of 181-1. That also was good enough for fifth place in the Mountain West Conference.

"That was a big shocker because before that I had never hit more than 160 feet in an actual meet," Bingson said. "That's when I kind felt like I knew what I was doing. Ever since then it has been nothing but getting better."

Bingson steadily improved last year as a sophomore and won the MWC title with a toss of 210-2.

This year she routinely has bettered her school record during meets and even led the nation for much of the year before Berry, who took fourth last year in the NCAA finals, passed her with a 231-4 effort at the Drake Relays on April 27.

Bingson's toughest competition for repeating as Mountain West champion likely will come from junior teammate Chelsea Cassulo, who ranks ninth nationally with a throw of 205-6.

"Chelsea and I are like brother and sister," Bingson said. "In competitions we don't really get along because we're both really competitive, but at the same time we both push each other so well."

Bingson and Cassulo will take part in the NCAA West Preliminary round in Eugene, Ore., on May 26-28. The top 12 finishers advance to the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 8-11. The top eight finishers receive All-America recognition.

Bingson is hoping to be spending a lot of time at historic Hayward Field in Eugene in the future.

That's also the site of the U.S. Olympic team trials in June 2012 as well as this year's USA Outdoor Track and Field championships (June 23-26).

"That's a long ways away," Bingson said of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. "It's in the back of my mind, but right now I'm just focused on regionals and nationals and this year.

"Next year, when it comes along, we'll worry about it then."

Contact reporter Steve Guiremand at sguiremand@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4534.