Wauters looks for another All-American finish in the weight throw (Idaho Athletic Media Relations)

1. You recently won the weight throw with an NCAA provisional mark of 68-10 at the Washington State Open. How did you feel during the event and what will you look to improve on as the season moves forward?

At this point in the season I am still working on building strength and training through the meets so I was a little surprised with the mark. My coaches Julie and Tim Taylor have been working on some new things with me and it seems to be paying off. Also I am working on gaining 221 pounds is not quite where I was trying to be at this point in the season.

2. After finishing sixth in the weight at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships, what are some of your goals for this indoor season?

The biggest goals that I have are to help my team to win our conference championship, improve my PR, and to stay healthy.

3. How much did it help you to redshirt the 2007 outdoor season?

Red shirting the 2007 outdoor season was a good chance to work on building strength and getting lots of throwing reps without the inconvenience of missing school and training time with competing in a lot of meets and traveling to them.

4. Considering you have to focus more on the shot and weight during the indoor season, how do you also balance out training for the hammer and discus for the outdoor season?

During the last three years I only threw weight during the indoor season, no hammer, but this year I have worked on incorporating in hammer drills and throws as well. Obviously, having Russ Winger to throw shot and discus with is continuing to help those throws. We have a great group or throwers right now and we all work together to help each other out in all the events.

5. Looking back at your collegiate career so far, what performances or awards are you most proud of?

I was really excited to win the 2006 WAC freshman of the year, I was not expecting that.

6. With all the lifting in the weight room, what exercises do you feel help you the most in the ring?

My favorite lift would be power cleans I think they are a great full body exercise that works on being very explosive and quick which is how I try to throw. Squats are also a staple that I try to get plenty of.

7. Technically speaking, how do you prepare for your throw in the weight? What's the best advice you can give for any high school athlete in the event for the first time?

Well I never threw the weight in high school but my coaches Tim and Julie have brought me along tremendously in the way of technique. I also try to watch a lot of videos of throwing, along with eating and sleeping right. If I had to give advice to a high school athlete I would say try to find a coach that can help you to learn the right technique from the get go so you don’t have to try to change it later.

8. Not many people have ventured through the campus of Idaho. What's the best part of being a student-athlete there and how often do you get to visit your friends and family back home in Washington?

As far as being a track and field athlete, we have an amazing facility to train in indoors and also a great outdoor track. Our team is very close and we have awesome coaches for all the events. We also have some great track fans here in Idaho that give us a lot of support. Another thing that all of the student athletes can use is our weight room which is only a couple of years old and every thing an athlete could ever want. I get home once and awhile but my parents and brothers like to come watch my meets so that helps me out.

9. Describe a typical training day for you during the week. What days do you find yourself training the most considering you must be ready to throw on any given weekend?

A typical training day might go as follows; Get up at 7:30 eat breakfast. Go to class for two hours, study for a couple of hours and eat lunch, then go back to class. After that, go to practice, I normally throw for two hours a day then have a conditioning or plyo workout. Then I go lift for one to two hours four (days a week). I get home around 7pm and eat dinner, then I head back to school to try to catch up on my engineering home work. I normally try to set aside the meets that I want to peak for and train accordingly to that.

10. How do you find time to relax and enjoy when you're away from the sport?

Quite a few of the throwers on my team like do the same things I do, Marcus Mattox and I both have street bikes and dirt bikes that we like to get out and ride, I also go shooting with Russ and some of my other friends. I also enjoy ping pong, solving the rubiks cube (46 seconds is my best time so far) and playing tennis.