TEMPE, Ariz. – Maggie Ewen is trying to avoid the angst that normally accompanies a senior in spring.
"I'm just trying to go into every meet not thinking 'oh, my god, I'm never going to do this again!'" the Sun Devils thrower said. "Every once in a while, we'll very briefly talk about what comes next, but for the most part, we've been trying to put that off to the side and just focus on what's happening in the next few weeks."
The next few weeks are all that remain of Ewen's illustrious ASU career. She enters the Pac-12 Championships in Palo Alto, California from May 12-13 as the NCAA record holder in the hammer (74.53m/244-6 feet) and the shot put (19.46m/63-10.25 feet). She also owns the NCAA's best throw in the discus this season (61.27/201-00) ahead of Stanford's Valarie Allman (60.65/199-00).
All eyes will be on Ewen when she reaches the NCAA Outdoor Championships, from June 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon, to see if she can hold off Northern Arizona's Brooke Andersen in the hammer throw, defeat Allman in the discus and contend for the shot put title. Her throws coach Brian Blutreich marvels at how matter-of-factly the outside world views that challenge.
"This run she is on is so incredible and people don't really understand it," he said. "The girl from Northern Arizona is a hammer thrower and that's all she does. She's great at it but we don't get to put the time and effort into each event like other people are doing. It's crazy to see the distances Maggie is throwing when she is doing them. What she is doing is really hard."
Ewen won the 2017 NCAA outdoor hammer title last season. She added the NCAA indoor shot put title in March. To post a trifecta this spring would be a monumental and unprecedented accomplishment, but Ewen won't let her thoughts stray that far from the present.
"It's always been a unique struggle to try and perfect all three of these events that are very different and it's a lot to ask for them all to be clicking and working and jiving at the same time," she said. "My parents always say this when they come to see me compete: 'you have three events so if one doesn't go so well the other two probably will.' That's the mindset I need to keep, stay positive, shake off what might not have been so great today and get back at it.
"The one main goal I always have going into any meet or any practice is I want to throw farther than I did before because that kind of covers everything. If you happen to throw farther and you break a record, you break a record. If you throw farther and you happen to become a national champion, that's what you do. I try to do my best each time out and wherever that puts me it puts me."
Ewen's national fame grows with each year and each ensuing accomplishment. She did an interview with ESPN on Wednesday and she will undoubtedly be in the spotlight when the 2020 Olympic year rolls around, but Blutreich said she has never wavered from the committed, humble, adaptable woman he first coached last season when he replaced longtime ASU throws coach David Dumble (now the throws coach at Oregon State) last season.
"It's a tall order, a great leap of faith she took with me being a new coach and trying to change some things; dabble with what was comfortable for her before," Blutreich said. "I wish I had more time with her. I always feel like I'm behind because I know what kind of reps it takes to get to a certain level. Obviously, she has done some great things, things that people have never done before, but I think there is a lot more in there.
"The great thing about Maggie is she pushes me to be better. I've had two NCAA record holders in the women's shot put before. Elite athletes push me to be on my game and that's what they deserve. They deserve to have an elite level coach that can help them get where they want to be."
Ewen can't help but notice the increased attention she is garnering, but she is loath to discuss her place in ASU history, preferring to focus on the team around her.
"I think my biggest goal here is to represent my family, my school, my coaches, my teammates and my friends to the best of my ability," she said. "The biggest people I'll have an impact on is the other throwers because of our training schedule. I hope I'm leading them the right way, down the right path, because I'm not a very vocal person."
Ewen's impact reaches far wider than she knows.
"Having Maggie raises the bar for our whole team," Sun Devils middle distance runner Alethia Marrero said. "I want to follow in Maggie's footsteps. I think everybody does."
It's a worthy goal for any Sun Devil athlete to pursue. When her career ends, Ewen will go down as one of the greatest student-athletes in ASU history.
"It's weird to hear that," Ewen said while almost recoiling. "It's definitely weird. It's obviously an honor. I'm happy that all this hard work over the last 12 years -- from the first time me and my dad went out and picked up a discus together -- is paying off. It's an absolute honor but I still haven't really wrapped my mind around that. I've still got work to do."
"I'm just trying to go into every meet not thinking 'oh, my god, I'm never going to do this again!'" the Sun Devils thrower said. "Every once in a while, we'll very briefly talk about what comes next, but for the most part, we've been trying to put that off to the side and just focus on what's happening in the next few weeks."
The next few weeks are all that remain of Ewen's illustrious ASU career. She enters the Pac-12 Championships in Palo Alto, California from May 12-13 as the NCAA record holder in the hammer (74.53m/244-6 feet) and the shot put (19.46m/63-10.25 feet). She also owns the NCAA's best throw in the discus this season (61.27/201-00) ahead of Stanford's Valarie Allman (60.65/199-00).
All eyes will be on Ewen when she reaches the NCAA Outdoor Championships, from June 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon, to see if she can hold off Northern Arizona's Brooke Andersen in the hammer throw, defeat Allman in the discus and contend for the shot put title. Her throws coach Brian Blutreich marvels at how matter-of-factly the outside world views that challenge.
"This run she is on is so incredible and people don't really understand it," he said. "The girl from Northern Arizona is a hammer thrower and that's all she does. She's great at it but we don't get to put the time and effort into each event like other people are doing. It's crazy to see the distances Maggie is throwing when she is doing them. What she is doing is really hard."
Ewen won the 2017 NCAA outdoor hammer title last season. She added the NCAA indoor shot put title in March. To post a trifecta this spring would be a monumental and unprecedented accomplishment, but Ewen won't let her thoughts stray that far from the present.
"It's always been a unique struggle to try and perfect all three of these events that are very different and it's a lot to ask for them all to be clicking and working and jiving at the same time," she said. "My parents always say this when they come to see me compete: 'you have three events so if one doesn't go so well the other two probably will.' That's the mindset I need to keep, stay positive, shake off what might not have been so great today and get back at it.
"The one main goal I always have going into any meet or any practice is I want to throw farther than I did before because that kind of covers everything. If you happen to throw farther and you break a record, you break a record. If you throw farther and you happen to become a national champion, that's what you do. I try to do my best each time out and wherever that puts me it puts me."
Ewen's national fame grows with each year and each ensuing accomplishment. She did an interview with ESPN on Wednesday and she will undoubtedly be in the spotlight when the 2020 Olympic year rolls around, but Blutreich said she has never wavered from the committed, humble, adaptable woman he first coached last season when he replaced longtime ASU throws coach David Dumble (now the throws coach at Oregon State) last season.
"It's a tall order, a great leap of faith she took with me being a new coach and trying to change some things; dabble with what was comfortable for her before," Blutreich said. "I wish I had more time with her. I always feel like I'm behind because I know what kind of reps it takes to get to a certain level. Obviously, she has done some great things, things that people have never done before, but I think there is a lot more in there.
"The great thing about Maggie is she pushes me to be better. I've had two NCAA record holders in the women's shot put before. Elite athletes push me to be on my game and that's what they deserve. They deserve to have an elite level coach that can help them get where they want to be."
Ewen can't help but notice the increased attention she is garnering, but she is loath to discuss her place in ASU history, preferring to focus on the team around her.
"I think my biggest goal here is to represent my family, my school, my coaches, my teammates and my friends to the best of my ability," she said. "The biggest people I'll have an impact on is the other throwers because of our training schedule. I hope I'm leading them the right way, down the right path, because I'm not a very vocal person."
Ewen's impact reaches far wider than she knows.
"Having Maggie raises the bar for our whole team," Sun Devils middle distance runner Alethia Marrero said. "I want to follow in Maggie's footsteps. I think everybody does."
It's a worthy goal for any Sun Devil athlete to pursue. When her career ends, Ewen will go down as one of the greatest student-athletes in ASU history.
"It's weird to hear that," Ewen said while almost recoiling. "It's definitely weird. It's obviously an honor. I'm happy that all this hard work over the last 12 years -- from the first time me and my dad went out and picked up a discus together -- is paying off. It's an absolute honor but I still haven't really wrapped my mind around that. I've still got work to do."