FEB 6, 2025 | SPORTS | By Madeleine Johnson
Erin Capell ‘25 may have just broken her own school record for indoor shot put with an astounding throw of 12.16 meters (almost 40 feet), but when she graduates in May, she’ll leave behind much more than her records.
When Capell arrived at Colorado College as a freshman, the track and field team looked different than it does today. Capell described the team as having a “come if you want” attitude before coach Katie Bretscher stepped into the program in 2020. She said that through the years, the team has gotten bigger and more cohesive, building to winning a women’s SCAC Championship in 2024.
Additionally, the thrower’s team has evolved seriously since Capell’s first season. Coach Eric Gordon’s second season at CC has the largest group of throwers the school has seen in quite a few years. The group has tripled in size over the last four seasons, and Capell remarked on a better connection between the team as a whole as well as a unification of the sprint, distance and field disciplines.
Even before the changes to the team, Capell has always made the most of what the program has to offer. She had nothing negative to say when asked what it was like being the only female thrower on the team for her first three years at CC. Although she admitted it took some getting used to, she said she appreciated the opportunities for one-on-one coaching and isn’t sure she’d have seen as much progress with a larger team in the beginning.
Her progress is evident despite setbacks. Capell was slowed down her sophomore year by a torn Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) at the beginning of the indoor track and field season. The injury prevented her from practicing the full spin for the discus throw, which is what provides most of the power and she had limited range of mobility for shot put. However, the injury didn’t stop her from finishing fourth in shot put at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championship with a personal-best throw of 35’11” that year.
Then, in 2024, Capell first broke the 26-year-old school record with a throw of 39’,0.5”. She’s hoping to break the school record for discus to go along with her indoor and outdoor shot put records. With a personal best of 122’,’7 “, she’s not far off from the school record of 125’,8” set in 1996 by Erin Tuggle.
Capell is ready for the outdoor season to commence. In regards to breaking all three discus and shot put records, she said, “That’s kind of what I came here to do.”
Colorado College will participate in their first outdoor meet on March 7 and 8 in California, where the team will look to find early success before a season of almost nonstop weekly meets.