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Thrower’s record-breaking year puts IUK track & field in the national spotlight

KOKOMO, Ind. — With a shot put throw of 16.46 meters, Sydney Duncan put herself on the radar as a potential national champion at the very first meet of her sophomore season.

The Indiana University Kokomo sophomore made good on that promise, winning NAIA national champion honors in both indoor and outdoor track and field, earning runner up in discus at outdoor nationals, and collecting numerous accolades along the way.

“These honors symbolize all the work the coaches have put into the program, and the growth happening within the program too,” said Duncan, from Anderson. “Personally, they reflect all the hard work, time, dedication, and literal sweat and tears that I have put in as well.”

Her championships are not just a victory for herself — they are also a win for her team.

“Sydney has put our team and our school on the national level,” said Coach Josh Colvin. “We are recognized now as a national contending team, especially in throws. She has helped to elevate our shot put, weight throw, hammer throw, and discus squads to be regularly ranked in top 10 in the nation. When we recruit throwers, we can say they will be able to throw with a national champion, and I think that helps recruit high-level throwers to our program.”

Her accolades include US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) 2025 NAIA National Women's Field Athlete of the Year in both indoor and outdoor seasons. Her winning shot put throw of 16.79 meters at outdoor nationals places her #3 in NAIA history, as she also set lifetime bests in hammer throw and discus. She’s a four-time NAIA All-American in shot put and earned All-American honors in discus. During the indoor season she notched the seven longest throws recorded in the NAIA, making her one of the top 20 female throwers in the nation, among athletes in the NCAA Division I, II, or II, or in the NAIA.

Duncan swept shot put, discus, and hammer throw titles at the River States Conference outdoor championships as well.

Where does an athlete go after achieving so much early in her career?

Duncan and her coaches, who also include throwing coach Grant Gaylor, have started thinking about next season, while taking some time off in the summer for rest.

“I want to repeat at national champion in indoor and outdoor,” she said. “Throwing 18 meters is my starting goal, and I can see where I go from there.”

She also hopes to pick up a national championship in discus, and to qualify for nationals in weight throw during the indoor season, and hammer throw in outdoor.

Duncan said expectations will be high for her next season.

“There’s definitely pressure,” she said. “It’s something I’m going to struggle with for the next two years, learning how to have fun in the moment even though there’s an expectation to do well. I have high goals for myself but also have to realize I can’t hit those goals at every meet. I have to learn to be content but not satisfied. That’s something I have to work at.”

She chose IU Kokomo specifically because the coaches were interested in her long before she qualified for IHSAA track and field state finals her senior year at Frankton High School, placing 8^th in shot put. She’s proud to win national recognition for IU Kokomo and the NAIA.

“They show that an athlete from a small school with no recruiting offers can come to an NAIA school and absolutely dominate,” she said. “IU Kokomo decided to take a chance on me from the get-go. They didn’t wait for my state results to come out.

Working with Gaylor, IU Kokomo’s first-ever national champion, who won the shot put title at NAIA outdoor championships in 2021, she’s learned new techniques, including spinning, to take her throwing to the next level.

“I have a coach who knows how to coach it very well,” she said. “Grant knows what he’s talking about because he’s been there. He knows what it takes to win.”

Colvin added that in addition to Duncan’s success on the field, she’s an excellent student. She’s studying health and exercise science, with plans to become a physical therapist.

“Sydney is the epitome of a student athlete,” he said. “She is a very determined, goal-oriented, hardworking student athlete. She has excellent grades and knows what she wants from her academics and her eventual career. She holds herself to even higher standards than we hold her to and is disappointed when she doesn’t perform up to her standards and will work harder to make herself better.”

Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.

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