BILLINGS — The last time the Olympics were held in 2021, Alysa Keller hadn’t even thrown a javelin.
The Billings West grad didn’t take up the sport until 2022 during her junior year of high school, but now not only will Keller throw at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, she’s already qualified to represent Team USA at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Peru.
“There’s going to be the best of the best. Like, Kara Winger is going and I’m going up against an Olympian, that’s insane,” Keller, who will compete Friday in the first flight at 5 p.m. (MDT) at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, said.
“I never thought I’d be here so I think it’s amazing.”
People are also reading…
She will be one of two throwers from Billings competing Friday, along with Huntley Project coach Kieran McKeag. Billings Senior graduates Christina and Dani Aragon are also competing in the women’s 1,500 this weekend.
Keller started after her high school basketball coach prompted her to join the track team and former state record holder Chris Reno suggesting she’d be good at javelin.
She left Billings West as a two-time AA state champion and was Montana’s Gatorade player of the year for track and field in 2023 after being nationally ranked as a high schooler and committed to BYU, where she just completed her freshman season.
“I wasn’t able to compete until like a month or two ago so that was a little stressful,” she said.
A strained flexor digitorum held her out until April, when she threw a personal best in her first meet back and qualified for the Big 12 championships.
“That first meet … was my first meet since state from high school my senior year so let’s just say I was excited to compete,” Keller said. “That’s also why the injury was kind of a blessing because it really taught me that patience, because I was so eager to compete.
“Honestly, now I think it was kind of a blessing, because I think it really pushed me forward and helped me to become an even better athlete this year.”
In May, Keller was Big 12 runner-up and became the fourth-best thrower in BYU history for her 170-feet, 1-inch mark during the Big 12 Championships. She made it to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West Regional, where she finished 18th but ultimately did not advance to the NCAA championships.
However, even that ended with a positive outcome as it gave her an extra week to prepare for the USATF U20 Championships on June 15, which were also in Eugene.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know that the meet existed until like a month ago,” Keller said. “A few weeks before, my teammates were like, ‘Alysa that is a huge meet.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ They were like, ‘If you get top two you can go to Peru and compete for the USA.’ I was like, ‘Excuse me?’”
Keller threw 158-4 on her first attempt and finished runner-up to Bucknell’s Evelyn Bliss.
“I was like, not a lot of people get to experience this so I’m just going to have fun today and whatever happens, happens,” Keller said. “I didn’t throw my best, but it still got me second. It still got me to Peru. So I’m not going to be mad about that and I’m really thankful for that.”
Alysa Keller finished as the runner-up at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the women’s javelin on May 11.
The World Athletics U20 Championships, held biennially around the globe, are scheduled for Aug. 27-31, 2024, in Lima, Peru. Women’s javelin rounds will begin Aug. 28. It’ll be Keller’s first time traveling out of the country and she’ll get to do it in a USA jersey.
“That’s insane, but I’m really excited,” Keller said. “It’s going to be a fun experience.”
But before that, she’s back in Eugene for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
“There’s definitely some cues I’m working on so I learned there is a pretty bad headwind that Hayward feels so I’m going to be focused on keeping my tip down, so that I don’t rainbow throw it,” Keller said. “I’m working a lot on my mind and mentally preparing.”
Keller says she’s been reading “The Fearless Mind” by Craig Manning and learning how to focus on the present.
“I’ve been learning a lot just how the mind works and how staying in the present is the most important thing you can do,” Keller said. “Not focusing on all my last meets that I’ve had, because those are past and I can’t do anything about them. It’s focusing on right now, focusing on the cues that I’m giving in practice and focusing like on every movement.”
