Ohio State's Whalen set for outdoor shot put

Former Jacobs track and field star Pat Whalen was recently compared to a boxer.

Whalen, a junior shot-putter for the Ohio State men's track and field team, is battling a hand problem that an MRI determined was a giant cyst.

"It's a pretty bad hand injury," Whalen said. "There is some scar tissue and some torn tendons and the ligaments have lost a lot of elasticity. It's like a boxer's hand.

"I've done a lot of damage. Sometimes it will blow up to five times the normal size. It's been bothering me real bad. But if they remove it, it will come right back and you start having the same thing. The biggest problem with the shot put is you have to have big hands, and mine are small. The best thing to do for it right now is rest."

Whalen was able to do just that over spring break recently and is now gearing up for the outdoor season.

Earlier, Whalen took fourth in the shot at the Big Ten Conference indoor meet.

"I had an alright season," said Whalen. "I missed nationals by one spot and 6 inches. This is comparable to my senior year of high school where I had a bad indoor season and a great outdoor season (winning a state shot put title). Hopefully I can mirror that closely."

Whalen said not making indoor nationals made him even hungrier for the outdoor season.

"I've got a lot of motivation," Whalen said. "I saw how bad nationals were. People were throwing 58. I've thrown that 10 times this year. A lot of guys came in there with big throws. I don't trust indoor nationals. Guys from smaller schools come in with big throws they got at smaller meets."

Whalen is a proponent of the outdoor qualification system where shot-putters have to qualify for nationals at regional meets.

"Outdoors there are four regional meets and they take a certain amount of throwers from each meet," Whalen said. "It's a good way to do it."

Whalen has his sights set high for Ohio State's outdoor season.

"I want to win a Big Ten title in the shot and the disc and I think I've got a really good chance," said Whalen. "I have to stay as healthy as I can and stay motivated. I know I'm going to have to get a big throw out there. I'm going to have to throw 62 to win in the Big Ten, which I think I can do."

Whalen did throw 62-feet on his fifth throw at the Big Ten indoor meet but was called for a foul.

"They said I stepped out," Whalen said. "I don't know how they could have called me for a foul. But in track and field there are no instant replays. It's frustrating, but I had an opportunity to get it back on my sixth throw and I didn't."

As far as coping with the hand injury during the season, Whalen said there a number of things that can be done.

"They can do ultrasound with it and ice it," said Whalen. "Sometimes the circulation gets cut off, so you are limited."

Whalen was studying to become a teacher at Ohio State, but he has decided to change course.

"I'd like to go back and get my MBA," said Whalen, who is scheduled to graduate next spring and mentioned the possibility of seeking a graduate assistant coaching position at an institution.

But first he's got some business to attend to this spring.

"I'm ready to win," said Whalen, who hit an NCAA regional mark of 58-2 in the discus last year for Ohio State.

Whalen, who won a Class AA state shot put championship at Jacobs in 2004 and captured the indoor state title in 2003, finished fifth in the Big Ten in the discus and eighth in the shot put as a sophomore during the outdoor season. Whalen was also ninth in the league as a freshman in the indoor shot.

Pasek at Illinois: Former Dundee-Crown boys gymnastics standout Roger Pasek hasn't missed a beat for the University of Illinois men's gymnastics team.

Pasek, a freshman, is part of an Illinois squad that is ranked sixth in the country and recently won a tri-meet with Big Ten Conference opponents Minnesota and Iowa.

The meet was shown twice on the Big Ten Network this past week.

Pasek won the floor championship with a career-best score of 15.550. It was his third floor exercise championship of the season. He also won the floor at a recent meet at Illinois-Chicago.

Pasek has competed in eight meets for the Fighting Illini this year on floor, horse and vault. He's averaging 14.750 on floor (15.550 high), 13.750 on horse (14.000 high) and 15.456 on vault (15.900 high).

Illinois will compete in the Big Ten championships April 4-5 at Penn State. Illinois is looking for its first Big Ten title since 2004.

Allison at Graceland: Larkin alum Kevin Allison is a member of the Graceland University men's volleyball team. In a recent three-game loss to St. Ambrose, Allison finished with 10 kills, 3 block assists, 3 aces and 8 digs.

Heading into the team's final three regular-season matches, Allison had 231 kills (ranked sixth in conference), 11 solo blocks and 27 block assists (ranked 26th). He was third in the conference in aces (29) and in the top 20 in digs (132).

Vierneisel at Cal: Jacobs alum Eric Vierneisel completed his senior season as a member of the Cal men's basketball team. Vierneisel, a 6-foot-7 forward, started both of the team's NIT games. Vierneisel had 2 points, 8 assists and 2 rebounds in 28 minutes during Cal's 68-66 victory over New Mexico. Vierneisel had 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal in the team's 73-56 road loss at Ohio State. The Bears finished 17-16 and dismissed coach Ben Braun earlier this week.

Dennison at Bethel: Former Bartlett softball player Corinne Dennison is part of a Bethel (Ind.) College team that was 19-1 through its first 20 games and ranked 13th among NAIA schools. Dennison recently went 1-for-5 in a doubleheader sweep of Cornerstone. She went 0-for-4 in a sweep of Trinity Christian and also went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in a doubleheader victory over Adrian College.

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at difibulator@aol.com.