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THE WINNER: Payton Otterdahl
THE BASICS
School: Rosemount (Minn.)
Grade: Senior
Event: Throws
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 220 pounds
Athletic achievement: He won two individual state championships this spring and led the Irish to a third-place finish as a team at the Class AA state meet. Otterdahl captured gold by launching the shot put 61 feet, 0.5 inches and won the discus event with a throw of 173 feet, six inches. A First Team All-State selection, he completed an undefeated season in both events and his state title-winning throw in the shot ranked as the nation’s No. 46 performance among prep competitors in 2014 at the time of his selection.
Academic excellence: Otterdahl has maintained a 3.01 GPA.
Exemplary character: He has volunteered locally on behalf of Feed My Starving Children, Sharing and Caring Hands and as a youth wrestling referee.
THE PRAISE
“Payton Otterdahl is a tremendous athlete in track and field,” said Rosemount head coach Jay Hateli. “The most exciting thing about him is that his best days are definitely ahead of him. He is still learning and developing physically.”
THE FUTURE: Otterdahl has signed with North Dakota State.