ON TO THE NEXT LEVEL - Angell finds her new throwing home in Duluth

ON TO THE NEXT LEVEL

The third university visit was the charm for Gilman senior Bailey Angell, who signed her National Letter of Intent last month to compete in the throwing events for the University of Minnesota-Duluth women’s track and field team next year.

A state-caliber athlete in shot put and discus since she joined the Gilman Pirates’ track and field program as a freshman in 2021, Angell made her decision official in a signing ceremony held at the school on Dec. 20.

“It was nervewracking with the whole school being here, parents, grandparents,” Angell said. “ I never thought I would be at that place in my life where I got that chance to compete at the (NCAA) D-II level. The coaches there are amazing. I got to do a walk-around tour and talk to the athletes that go there. It’s just unbelievable.”

Angell said she took her tour at UMD in early December. That followed trips over the summer to the University of North Dakota and Minnesota State Mankato. North Dakota is an NCAA Division I program with the university being located in Grand Forks, N.D. Mankato is a Division II program that competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, along with UMD.

All three schools had positive aspects, but Angell said it didn’t take long for UMD to stand out.

“I went and visited the University of North Dakota,” Angell said. “Beautiful campus, just too big of a city for me and too far from home. At first I thought I wanted to go far from home. But in the end, I was like, no I want to be able to come home and see my family, go hunting and all of that kind of stuff.

“I visited Mankato,” she added. “It was really nice. But I still wanted to keep my options open. Finally I went and toured Duluth. I got there and I was like, ‘wow.’ I knew right away. Mom (Danette) and Dad (Phil) knew because they saw my face light up.”

Angell plans to study exercise science, with an eye toward physical therapy.

The Bulldogs’ program is led by director of track and field and cross country Karly Brautigam, who has been there since the 2021-22 school year and the throws assistant is Cody Phelps. UMD finished eighth in last year’s NSIC indoor championships and seventh in the outdoor championships.

The team, which includes senior Franny Seidel, a 2020 Medford graduate, has competed in two indoor meets this season so far this season at St. Scholastica and Mankato.

Angell said the people at Duluth were a big reason why she felt at home during her visit. She said the coaches stressed they like to take a personal approach with their athletes, which appealed to Angell.

“They keep their throws team pretty small, so we get a lot of one-on-one time,” Angell said. “They only signed two girls this year for the throws team. As of now, going in, if I hit my 40-foot mark (this spring in shot put), I will be considered the number-one thrower on their women’s team. It’ll definitely be a good experience.”

Angell is a three-time qualifier for the WIAA Division 3 state championships in the shot put and a two-time qualifier in the discus. She placed ninth last year at state in the shot put.

As a sophomore in 2022, Angell was the state runner-up in the shot put with a throw of 38 feet, 6.25 inches and also medaled in the discus with a sixth-place throw of 112-11. As a freshman in 2021, she was fourth at state in the discus at 11011.

Angell won the 2022 and 2023 Eastern Cloverbelt Conference shot put championships and has been second in the discus three straight years. She has one shot put sectional title, two shot put regional titles and two discus regional titles to her credit.

Angell’s high-school bests are 38-10.5 in the shot put and 116-4.5 in the discus.

In college, she’ll get to add the weight and hammer throws to her repertoire, something she is excited for.

“I’m so excited to do those,” Angell said. “I got to do hammer a couple times at the indoor facility at North Dakota. It was unreal. It’s basically a shot put on a string. It’s going to be a whole new experience learning it. It was so much fun to throw.”

Angell wasn’t fully healthy at the end of last year and the post-season finish wasn’t what she was hoping for. She said in the summer, she discovered power lifting, which has been a game changer for her.

“Right now my squat is at 385 pounds, my bench press is at 205 and my dead lift is at 385,” Angell said. “As soon as I told my coaches at Duluth what my lifts were, their faces dropped. They were like they never thought they’d see a 17-year-old girl lift almost 1,000 pounds on those lifts.

“Right now I’m the best I’ve ever felt physically and mentally for sports. After I picked up power lifting, it’s become where the gym is my second home. It’s made a big difference.”

Angell’s main goals for her final season with the Pirates is to break the long-standing school records of 41-4.5 and 124-11, set in 1983 by Karen Fedors.

“I think I’m sitting pretty good with (shot put),” Angell said. Discus, I’d love to beat the school record too. Discus isn’t my strong suit, but it’s definitely there. I can definitely get it. It’s definitely reachable.”