By Rich Winter

605 Sports

At 6-feet-10 and 325 pounds Sioux Falls Washington senior Kael Miedema knows all about big. 

The defending Class AA state champion in the shot put and discus has some big goals this season, none bigger than topping the 211-4 state discus record set by Aberdeen Central’s George Amundson in 1969.

“In the discus my main goal is to pass 211 feet,” Miedema said. “I don’t see why that’s not possible with my God given ability and the work I’ve put in.”

Miedema won the Class AA state discus title last year with a throw of 173-8. He said he wasn’t giving much thought to the Amundson record until he uncorked a 193-foot throw at a meet in Oregon in late June. 

“That’s when I started thinking about the record,” he said. “I’ve been hitting 190-feet consistently and I’ve had a practice throw that was close to 200-feet.” 

Miedema’s first love was not track and field. Instead he focused on football and basketball and only started throwing in the eighth grade. 

“My sophomore year I decided I’m pretty decent at this,” he said. “I started to learn the rotation in the shot put and switched my focus to the throws that I now have an extreme passion for.” 

While discus is his favorite event, Miedema is no slouch in the shot put. As a junior he won the Class AA state shot put with a toss of 59-10.5. His personal best is 62-3.5 achieved in early June of 2022. 

“I’d like to get out to 65 or 66 feet,” he said. “I’m not as worried about shot put because I think it is more fun to see things go really far.” 

Kael Miedema claimed shot put and discus titles at the 2022 Class AA state track meet. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

Miedema notes that a lot of his improvement has come from attending throwing camps and watching a lot of YouTube videos. 

“There isn’t a whole lot of investment or intrigue in the throws in South Dakota,” he said. “It is hard to compete on a level like California, Texas and Florida.” 

Another leap forward for the Washington standout was meeting throwing guru Justin St. Clair who is now the head track coach at the University of Nebraska. 

“The fall of my junior year I kinda wanted to talk to St. Clair who was then at North Dakota State,” he said. “I knew he knew how to shape power guys and to work with someone that is taller like myself.”