BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
OXFORD — Connor Bandel departs the prep scene at the top of the charts.
The recent Oxford grad leaves the Great Lake State as one of the very best throwers in the shot put and discus in Michigan history with many accolades, accomplishments and records.
“I don’t think when I came in as a freshman, I could have really imagined this,” said Bandel, who will depart for 2016 NCAA champion University of Florida in August. “You dream about one day being a state champion and being successful. But like this…I don’t know if I could have really expected this.”
Bandel accomplished a feat few do as a freshman: Win conference meets in both the shot put and discus. That was only the beginning.
As a lanky, 6-foot-2 ninth grader, Bandel won the OAA Red Division meet in the shot put and discus, throwing 47-3 in the shot put and 138-2 in the discus back in 2013.
“We knew the potential was there,” recalled Oxford throws coach George Schraut. “He was very raw back then. He used to throw it like a baseball. I used to tell him that it’s the ‘shot put’ not the ‘shot throw.’ He finally learned how to throw correctly and he’s matured over the years. He’s come a really long ways.
“We finally got him to start lifting weights more seriously after his sophomore year,” continued Schraut. “He took the basketball season off his junior year and he got a lot better. Now, he’s one of the state’s best.”
That’s an understatement.
Bandel has been dominant, not losing to a single in-state competitor in the outdoor track and field season in two years.
His resume has become quite impressive. He departs with the four furthest throws all-time in Michigan in shot put. Over in the discus ring, he is one of just a fistful of competitors to go over 200 feet and he did it twice this season.
“I started to see that I had potential and I needed to listen to my coaches more and start working harder as a sophomore,” recalled Bandel. “I think I saw a big difference between my sophomore and junior year.”
While he did not qualify for the state finals as a freshman — he placed third in the shot put and fifth in the discus at the Ortonville Brandon regional that season — he was impressive nevertheless in the weight events traditionally dominated by seniors and juniors.
His sophomore season, he racked up numerous top-flight finishes and eventually placed fourth in the shot put and 18th in the discus at the D-1 state meet in 2014.
Today, Bandel is a muscular 6-4 and 230 pounds and has nearly perfected the spin move in the ring.
This season, Bandel set conference records in both events (62-3 in the shot put and 196-5 in the discus) and became a four-time league champ in both events — the first male to accomplish that feat in the 22-year history of the OAA.
He won both events at the Oakland County Championships (67-2.5 and 192-0). His shot put mark broke the existing all-time state record by two inches — and Bandel went on to break that mark three other times.
At the Division 1 state finals at Hudsonville, his 67-5.75 toss is now the Michigan all-division state-meet record, while the 198-11 discus efforts ranks amongst the top five state-meet efforts.
Bandel continued to excel at the Midwest Meet of Champions, where again he brought home both titles with a 67-4.25 throw in the shot put, a meet record, and 185-9 in the discus.
Recording a career-best of 204-2 in the discus at the Oxford Invitational back in April under ideal conditions, Bandel capped the season at the recent New Balance Outdoor Nationals. He won the national title in the discus (202-7) and placed fourth in the shot put with a stellar throw of 68-10.75, which broke his all-time Michigan record by over a foot.
Bandel is not your typical football lineman-turned-thrower. He is an agile soccer goalkeeper, starting for Oxford’s varsity all four years while earning all-league and all-district honors as a senior. He also played on one league championship and one district title-winning squads during his solid career on the soccer pitch.
In basketball, Bandel played varsity ball as a sophomore and senior.
He is looking forward to the next chapter competing at the NCAA level.
“I’m really looking forward to it. The weight (of the shot put and discus) are different, heavier, and it will be an adjustment,” said Bandel, who was heavily courted by several of the nation’s premier collegiate programs. “I will go in there and listen to what the coaches there, work hard, and see what I can do.”
At the recent Oakland County Championships, he tossed the shot put 67-2.5, which is the MITCA all-meet and all-time best effort in the event for a Michigan prep athlete. He broke the mark set by Allendale’s Zach Hill in 2008 by two inches.
Bandel is hoping to set the all-division state meet records this weekend in the discus and shot put. Walled Lake Central’s Cullen Prena hurled the discus 210-1 at the 2013 state finals, which is both the state-meet record and overall MITCA all-time mark.
The D-1 and all-division state meet record in the shot put was set by Kalamazoo Loy Norrix’s Todd Duckett (64-0.5) set in 1999, a distance that Bandel has bettered several times this season.
“I am going to go after the discus record, too,” said Bandel. “I know I can hit 64 in the shot put. I’ve done that in practice and at several meets this season. My goal is to go over 210 feet in the discus and try to get as close to 70 feet in the shot put before I’m done.”
Earlier this season, Bandel went 204-2 in the discus, becoming just the fourth Michigan prep athlete to ever break the 200-foot barrier in the event. Michigan prep record-holder Prena went over 200 feet four times as a senior.
Nationally, Bandel is currently ranked in the top five in both events and while he is behind some 10-feet in the shot put, he is within striking distance of contending for national honors in the discus.
After the state finals, Bandel is planning on competing at the Midwest Meet of Champions as well as 2-3 national meet in June and July. He also hopes to make the Junior Nationals squad this summer.
“I think I have a chance to win nationals in the discus. I don’t think I’ve neared my peak yet,” he said. “If the conditions are just right and I have a really good day, anything is possible. I think I can place in the shot put (nationally), but there are three guys over 70 feet already.”
Bandel is not your typical football lineman-turned-thrower. He is an agile soccer goalkeeper, starting for Oxford’s varsity all four years while earning all-league and all-district honors as a senior. He also played on one league championship and one district title-winning squads during his solid career on the soccer pitch.
In basketball, Bandel played varsity ball as a sophomore and senior.
He will attend the University of Florida on a track and field scholarship after being heavily courted by major colleges across the country. Bandel will no longer compete in soccer and basketball in college, concentrating on the sport that has brought him into the national spotlight for preps.
“Athletes like Connor are not a dime a dozen,” noted Oxford head track coach Matt Johnson. “We’ve seen some national-caliber athletes come from Michigan in the past 10-15 years, but most of them were distance runners. Connor has a chance to do something great in the throws.”
Time is running out on his senior season.
“I want to go out there, whether it’s the state meet or a national meet, and have one great day,” said Bandel. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to hit some more marks and set some more records. It’s been a lot of fun the past four years. I don’t think I realized that any of this would be possible as a freshman.
“My biggest thing is I’ve thought that I really want to leave a legacy behind for throwers in the state of Michigan,” added Bandel. “My goal coming into this year was I wanted to be in the discussion for one of the best throwers ever to come out of Michigan. I think I am right there in the discussion now.”
And he has a chance to be tops before he departs.