During her days at Carl Junction High School, Emilie Mieseler wanted to play basketball in college. It was her favorite sport. Although Mieseler competed in track and field and even made it to the Missouri 3 state meet her senior year in the shot put, she figured her future lied in a leather round ball, not a steel ball. "Track was not the sport I wanted to do in high school," Mieseler said. "I was a basketball player. I wanted to do that in college." Carl Junction is only 15 miles from Missouri Southern and that allowed track coach Patty Vavra to see Mieseler as an all-around athlete full of potential in track.

Carl Junction graduate Emilie Mieseler

Vavra called.

"She said, ?I think you have a future in track,'" Mieseler said. "I said, ?are you sure?' I think she was right."

Mieseler, a fifth-year senior, enters the MIAA Indoor Championships Friday through Sunday at Missouri Southern's Leggett & Platt Athletic Center as the top weight thrower in the MIAA.

She has already qualified for the NCAA Division II national meet and has yet to lose to a Division II athlete in the weight throw.

Her best throw of 57 feet, 3 inches, is nearly two feet better than Central Missouri junior Kate Walter.

Last week at the Central Missouri Classic, Mieseler finished first in the weight throw with a toss of 55 feet, 2 inches.

"No, I wasn't too pleased with my throws," Mieseler said. "They weren't awful throws. I did end up winning, but they weren't exactly what I wanted them to be either."

It's that quest to be better that has allowed Mieseler to rise to the top in a sport she never dreamed of competing in five or six years ago.

Once she got to Missouri Southern, Mieseler spent her redshirt season learning how to throw the weight and the hammer and improving on the shot put.

Even for state champions in the throwing events, it generally takes at least a year of practice before competing at the college level.

Mieseler used the time wisely and by the end of her first season of competition, she started to see results.

"It came at the end of my redshirt freshman season," Mieseler said. "I had a huge P.R. in the hammer throw and a big P.R. in the shoot put, also. That's when I decided I chose the right sport to compete in."

All along Vavra knew she recruited somebody who was destined to have success at the college level.

Vavra never questioned Mieseler's athletic ability. But she saw something else that went beyond the physical skills.

"The thing that sets Emilie apart is she is a giant mentally," Vavra said. "She has great confidence in herself. She sets her goals, follows through and does the work to reach those goals.

"It's been fun to see her pick a sport that may have been her second favorite sport, and she's bought in and committed in a big way."

Last season, in winning the weight throw in the MIAA Indoor Championships with her best mark, she earned her first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships.

It was an experience that built up her confidence for the outdoor season and this season.

"I didn't know what to expect," she said. "It was a big shocker for me. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was pretty amazing to go to Houston and do that.

"The first experience allowed me to figure out how nationals work. It's a little different from how the MIAA works and competing in the other meets. There are strict rules. The flights are random.

"The experience was awesome because when I went to outdoor nationals I understood everything that was going to go on. My nerves weren't as high. I think it really helped me a lot."

Despite all the success Mieseler has attained the last two years, she knows the competition at this weekend's conference meet will be stiff.

It figures to be a very competitive meet throughout all the events.

"I think this will be one of the best seasons ever for the MIAA," Mieseler said. "It's a very tough conference and we are all pretty good at what we do. It should be an exciting weekend to see how it plays out." 

The top 25 is loaded with MIAA women's teams, starting with Nebraska-Omaha at No. 4 followed by Central Missouri at No. 7 and Missouri Southern at No. 13.

Vavra pointed out that she has a triple jumper in senior Channell Lloyd who has already qualified for nationals, but ranks fourth in the MIAA.

Senior Ciara Lipsey has also qualified for nationals in the pole vault and is second in the MIAA behind Truman senior Katrina Biermann, who ranks third in the conference in the triple jump.

"It definitely promises to be great competition and great performances," Vavra said. "I think the other thing about this championship is you are going to see the best out of each of the schools. This championship brings out the best out of all the athletes."