Nov. 19, 2008

By Cara Corradino, Marquette Media Relations

MILWAUKEE-- With the indoor track & field season fast approaching, Golden Eagles freshman thrower David Carbajal is busy preparing for upcoming competitions.

"Looking toward the season, he is certainly going to add depth to our group," said senior captain Jeff Kluge. "If all goes well, he'll make it to the conference meet and hopefully snag a few points for the team."

"I'm just taking it a day at a time," Carbajal responded when asked how he was preparing. "I've just been practicing hard every day and gearing myself up for the season."

Carbajal's transition from high school athletics to BIG EAST competition began when he arrived on campus this summer to participate in off-season workouts with the team.

"David has adjusted well," said associate head coach Mike Koenning. "He had the opportunity to come here for summer school and strength train and throw with the team. Spending the summer at Marquette really helped him both athletically and academically."

With the season right around the corner, Carbajal joins the rest of the Golden Eagles in a vigorous training program that is focused around strength training, conditioning and event specific technique improvements.

"Dave's got a bright future as a thrower here," Kluge said. "He's already shown that he has the ability to be very successful, and as long as he stays healthy this year, a trip to conference and a couple freshman records are well within his reach."

Carbajal, a four-time letter winner in track & field at Prairie Ridge High School, was the captain and MVP of the team his senior year. He also holds the school record in both shot put and discus.

Injuries prevented him from competing at the IHSA State Track & Field Meet during his sophomore and junior years. However, he proved to be a force to be reckoned with during his senior year, when he earned All-State recognition in shot put with a throw of 54-7.5. Carbajal also was a state qualifier in the discus.

In 2008, Carbajal represented the state of Illinois at the 10th annual Midwest Senior Spotlight meet. Competing among the top senior athletes from Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and South Dakota, he placed 5th in shot put with a throw of 53-7.0 and finished 13th in the discus.

"Looking down the road a couple of years, it's not hard to imagine Dave as a serious first place contender at the conference meets," predicted Kluge.

"I have really high expectations for this season," said Carbajal. "My goal is to break the freshman shot put and weight throw records."

Carbajal knows that this is a lofty goal, but he feels well prepared for the challenge. The current freshman shot pot record, set by Dan Fax in 1995, is 53-2.75. Carbajal set his own personal record earlier this spring throwing a distance of 57-9. However, the shot put used in boy's high school competitions are four pounds lighter than those used by college men, a factor that can greatly affect the distance the shot put travels.

Since weight throw is an event that is not held at high school level meets, Carbajal is new to the throw. Jeff Kluge set the current freshman weight throw record (52-2.5) in 2006.

"All I can say about him coming after my record is `Bring it on!' Unfortunately for Dave, I feel like he is going to come up a few centimeters short," Kluge joked. "Seriously though, I don't imagine that he'll have too much trouble getting that record, and I hope that when he does get it, that he absolutely demolishes it. You can be sure I'll be right there cheering him on when it happens."

Carbajal signed his letter of intent with Marquette in late June; turning down scholarship offers from BIG EAST rival DePaul as well as Illinois State University and Drake University.

"I couldn't imagine going elsewhere," Carbajal replied. "Marquette University is one of the most respected academic and athletic schools in the nation."

Carbajal, a native of Crystal Lake, Ill., is the son of Valerie and Antonio Carbajal. He is currently finance and economics major in Marquette's College of Business Administration.

"The best part about Marquette so far is the guys on the team," Carbajal said. "I've already gotten really close with a lot of them. I'm just really excited to see what the rest of the season will bring."