Badgering: Riley Budde
March 08, 2017 | Men's Track & Field, Andy Baggot
Fresh from the Big Ten Indoor meet, Wisconsin thrower Riley Budde recently qualified for the NCAA championships and shares his thoughts on being a jack-of-all-trades athlete, his odd path to UW and why his dream job involves driving a tractor
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Riley Budde thought his future was in football when he graduated from Beaver Dam (Wisconsin) High School, but despite earning second-team all-state honors as an offensive guard he didn't get much interest on the scholarship front. But when that door appeared to close, another opened. Budde found his way to the Wisconsin men's track and field team, working with one of the best throws coaches in the country in Dave Astrauskas. Their collaboration has yielded impressive results. Budde, a redshirt junior, finished third in the Big Ten Conference indoor meet in the weight throw and qualified for the NCAA championships, which will be held Friday and Saturday in College Station, Texas. Prior to a recent workout with Astrauskas, Budde talked about being a jack-of-all-trades athlete, his odd path to UW and why his dream job involves driving a tractor.
How often do people mispronounce your last name?
"All the time. Like, 95 percent of the time."
So they usually call you what?
"Buddy."
What's the proper way to say it?
"Boo-dee."
When did qualifying for the NCAA indoor meet become an attainable thing for you?
"That's always the goal because it's the biggest meet of the year. I didn't really think much about it before the season, but then I opened up the year at 21.74 (meters, or 71 feet, 4 inches, which is an NCAA qualifying distance). … It was like 'Wow, I can actually do this.' It was kind of cool."
You didn't win a state track title in high school, yet you're in a major track program headed for the national meet. Are you a late bloomer or is there something else at work?
"In high school I guess I was as good at all the sports I did, but I wasn't really great at any one of them. I placed in state wrestling. I placed in (state) track. I was pretty good in football. I didn't have that one thing I was really great at. When I got here I didn't know what the hammer and weight throw were because Wisconsin doesn't have them for events in high school. It was new to me when I got here and I just took to it and ran with it."
The #Badgers will send 4? to College Station for the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships! #OnWisconsin
— Wisconsin Track & Field (@BadgerTrackXC) March 1, 2017
Did Wisconsin throws coach Dave Astrauskas recruit you to come here?
"Not actively. If I remember right, he assumed I was going to play football somewhere because I did some camps and visited a bunch of places for football, but didn't have any (scholarship) offers or anything like that. I came to Dave's track camp in January of my senior year and he asked me about it. I said, 'I don't know where I'm going to go.' He said, 'Do you want to come on a visit here for track?' I said, 'Sure, why not.' I didn't have anything else going and didn't know where I was going. I kind of took the offer and ran with it."
If your bio is correct, you've improved your weight throw 10 feet since you first arrived here, going from 62-8 to 72-11¼. What's your reaction to that?
"That's kind of crazy. I guess I wouldn't say I expected it to happen, but I'm not surprised. I always set my goals really high and just keep working hard."
Have you had an "ah-ha" moment with Dave in the weight throw?
"I'll have days where I can really feel my technique and can feel my positions and can really be technical with my movements. But I wouldn't say 'Ah-ha, I've got it.' because there's still a lot of work that I need to do to keep throwing farther. But I definitely think my awareness has gotten better. That's probably come from me getting older and more used to it."
Former Badger Michael Lihrman famously won NCAA titles and set school records (83-11¼) in the weight throw. Do you envision moving the bar even further?
"I'd like to think that I could. I don't know if it's an unrealistic thing. It's definitely a tall goal and I'm always striving for the best that I can do."
#Badgers @rileybudde67 took third in the weight throw with a bomb of 70-9 3/4 at #B1GTF!
— Wisconsin Track & Field (@BadgerTrackXC) February 25, 2017
Is there another student-athlete at UW that you'd like to trade places with for a day?
"That's a tough one. I don't know if there's a name in particular, but it'd be kind of cool to see what goes on with the football players and stuff, especially since that was my main thing in high school. It would be cool to see what they go through on a daily basis because I know it's really different than what we do."
What intrigues you most about going to your first NCAA meet?
"My biggest thing is trying to stay calm. In the back of my mind I know it's the biggest meet of the year for me and everything. I've just got to think of it as just another meet, and go out there and do what I do. I don't want to over-think stuff. I tend to do that. I might not throw as well if I do that. I just have to stay calm and get after it."
You major in agronomy. Why?
"My dad worked on a farm when I was younger, so I grew up around agriculture. We used to raise pigs for the fair, stuff like that. When I first came here I was in biological assistance engineering. I think it was the middle of my sophomore year and I decided I just didn't like where I was going. I didn't like my classes at all. I decided to make a change. Agronomy seemed like the direction to go."
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
"Being a farmer. I know you don't necessarily need to go to school for that, but I supposed anything helps. That would be my goal. I'd have my own farm."
Players Mentioned
