Crushing it: Second-place shot put finish on a broken toe

Trent Beseth ’26 didn’t arrive at St. Scholastica with his eye on becoming one of the most decorated track and field athletes in Saints’ history. The Stanchfield, MN, native came to Duluth for football — a sport he would quit, rejoin, and quit again before finally finding his footing in the throwing circle. Now a freshly graduated Saint with an accounting degree and hopes of attaining his CPA certification, Beseth built a collegiate athletic career that culminated in something that would have seemed impossible just weeks before it happened: a national runner-up finish in the indoor shot put with a shattered toe.

The path to that podium started with a simple email. After stepping away from football his freshman year, Beseth was lifting weights with no particular destination in mind when it occurred to him he could do what he’d done all four years of high school, so he reached out to Todd Bouchie, the men’s head track and field coach, without any prior introduction. “He already knew who I was, apparently,” Beseth said with a laugh. From that first conversation, he was in, and he’s been throwing ever since.

Finding his footing

His improvement had been steady and methodical rather than explosive. By his own admission, Beseth isn’t the strongest athlete in his events, so he leaned hard on technique. “That’s leveled the playing field a little bit and allowed me to throw pretty far,” he said. The results have been building: an 11th-place finish at his first indoor nationals, a seventh-place All-American showing in the outdoor shot put, and then a silver medal at the 2024 indoor national championship.

But the story of his 2025 indoor season is something else entirely.

Going into the season, Beseth was in the best shape of his life and had the feeling a big throw was right around the corner; as luck would have it, that’s around the time he dropped a weight plate on his left foot during a solo workout. X-rays revealed a comminuted fracture, or spiderweb cracks, radiating through his big toe. A full recovery was projected to take six to eight weeks; with the conference meet three weeks away and nationals in four and a half, the timing was devastating.

Adjusting and Improvising

Beseth missed conference championships but didn’t throw in the towel for the season. Although he was unable to throw properly, he improvised — taking shots from a chair, or balanced on one leg, just to keep his muscle memory intact. By the time nationals week arrived, he had taken roughly ten real practice throws that month. In comparison, he’d have thrown around 750 times in a normal month.

He received NCAA approval to compete with a carbon plate in his shoe to protect the healing toe. He skipped the practice sessions at the meet entirely, trying to conserve whatever he had left. Then, on his second competitive throw of the day, he caught the board wrong. “I smashed my foot,” he said. He hobbled away and told his coach that if it hurt like that again, he would have to pull out; he wouldn’t sacrifice his outdoor season for one meet.

Fortunately, he made it through to his final throw, decided his toe still felt intact and let it go. It was the best throw of his life. He finished second, losing out on first by ten centimeters.

“I was a little happier about the second place this year, honestly,” he said, “because I didn’t even know if I’d be able to throw. So just even being there was cool.”

A final outdoor season worth the wait

That mindset carried into the spring, and Beseth made good on the outdoor season he’d been protecting. He dominated the 2026 spring campaign, sweeping three MIAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week honors across the regular season. In fact, at the University of Minnesota’s Gary Wilson Invitational this April, his shot put of 18.14 meters (59′ 6.25″) ranked fifth in all of NCAA Division III; he also recorded the 13th-best hammer throw in Division III at the same meet.

At the MIAC Championships in May, he added yet another All-MIAC honor with a runner-up finish in the shot put, and a third-place showing in the hammer throw — a fitting send-off for the five-year Saint who arrived on campus to play football but instead leaves as one of the most accomplished throwers in program history. Beseth wrapped up his storied collegiate career at the 2026 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track and Field Championships, competing in three events, including an All-American third place finish in shot put. His eight career NCAA championship event appearances ties a St. Scholastica school record.

As for what comes next, Beseth isn’t done throwing. He plans to keep training toward the next Olympic cycle, with an eye on the U.S. Championships and world-level competition. He’s quick to acknowledge the accounting degree and CPA path waiting for him either way. “Worst case scenario,” he said with a laugh, “I just work as an accountant.” But for now, there are still throws to be made.