Blount: Undersized walk-on now top discus thrower for U

Nikki Tzanakis received exactly one recruiting letter when she was in high school, from a Division III university asking if she wanted to compete in shot put for its track program. She immediately threw it away. Tzanakis already planned to go to the University of Minnesota to study pharmacy, and besides, the only reason she joined her high school track team was because she had a crush on a member of the boys' squad.

She stuck to that ambition, earning a degree in biochemistry in December. But in her five years at the U, Tzanakis also developed a long-term love affair with a sport she thought she'd left behind. Wednesday, she will compete in discus at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in Des Moines, ending an unlikely journey from undersized walk-on to holder of the third-best throw in Gophers history.

At the Mesa Classic in April, the senior threw 180 feet, 1 inch, trailing only school record-holder Nicole Chimko (182-10) and Becky Fettig (181-6) on the Gophers' all-time list of best outdoor performances. That is a mind-boggling improvement from Tzanakis' high school days in Chippewa Falls, Wis., when she topped out at 115 feet.

Gophers coach Lynne Anderson told Tzanakis she would have to gain a substantial amount of weight and add at least 30 feet to her distance to have any hope of competing in the Big Ten. With the support of her coaches and teammates, Tzanakis did everything that was asked of her -- and achieved more than she ever thought possible.

"My guidance counselor in high school asked me if I thought about throwing in college," Tzanakis recalled. "I said, 'Who are you kidding?' But when I got here, I thought it would be cool to be part of something.

"When I heard the girls here threw 170, I thought, 'Holy cats!' I thought there was no way I could compare to people like Liz Podominick and Liz Alabi. I look back now, and every goal I've ever set, I've accomplished. It's just unbelievable."

Anderson kept an open mind about Tzanakis' potential, despite the enormous amount of work she knew it would take for her to succeed. The more she came to know Tzanakis, the less surprised Anderson was with every stride she made.

Despite her outgoing, optimistic nature, it took Tzanakis a month to work up the nerve to call Anderson and ask for a tryout as a freshman in 2006. The coach had room for a walk-on, but she told Tzanakis that Podominick and Alabi -- with bodies in the 6-foot, 200-pound range -- personified the kind of athlete built for the Big Ten.

At 5-8 and 145 pounds, Tzanakis was going to have to pack on muscle while she learned proper discus technique. And if she wanted to train with the Gophers, Anderson said, she would have to throw at least 130 feet. She did -- and the first time Anderson introduced her as a member of the team, Tzanakis ran into a bathroom and cried with joy.

With a host of talented recruits coming in the following year, Anderson told Tzanakis she would need to throw 145 feet just to stay on the roster. She topped that goal by two feet in her first season of competition, earning the chance to throw at the Kansas Relays and the Big Ten championships. In her sophomore year of eligibility, she finished third at the Big Ten meet while continuing to make huge gains in the weight room.

By the end of her junior season, when Tzanakis made the NCAA championships for the first time, she could bench-press 175 pounds and squat-lift 300 -- double what she could do four years earlier. She hoped to throw 175 feet this spring during her final year of eligibility, but she endured a rough season until the Mesa Classic in Arizona. When she launched a throw that was announced at 180-1, Tzanakis was so dumbstruck she asked the announcer to repeat the number.

At this point, nothing should surprise her. Since coming to the U, Tzanakis has added 55 pounds of muscle. She earned a partial scholarship for her final two seasons and will study pharmacy at the University of Iowa beginning in the fall. This week, she will have one more chance to achieve something unexpected.

Rachel Blount • rblount@startribune.com