The past couple weeks have been turbulent for senior Britta Christofferson. 

One week after breaking the school record in the hammer throw, Christofferson became ill. This caused her total distance in the hammer throw to drop by about 30 feet in her next competition.

Last weekend at the Musco Twilight, she was back to full strength. Christofferson got her distance back into the 190-foot range and took first.

“Last weekend, I was feeling pretty good,” Christofferson said of her performance at the Musco Twilight. “Way better than the week before.”

Christofferson, who redshirted her freshman season, is peaking in the hammer throw as her college career nears the end. She has been under the guidance of assistant coach Grant Wall for the past two seasons.

Wall has seen her make significant improvements from when he joined the staff.

“She’s improved 23 feet since I got here,” Wall said. “She kept plugging along and working hard and it has worked out for her. She’s just taken off with it. She has a drive and a focus, that when she wants to be good at something, she is.”

When Wall first met Christofferson, he felt that she had more of shot-put-type body. Wall hasn’t seen much change in the work ethic- that has always been there- but that work ethic has translated into an improvement in performance.

Her male counterpart in the shot put, Josh Koglin, often trains with Christofferson. He also admires her work ethic.

“She’s a really hard worker and her technique is really good,” Koglin said. “She has really good form in everything she does, even in the weight room. She shows up everyday and does what she needs to do.”

Koglin and Christofferson have also started a friendly competition among themselves. Christofferson won the first round by beating Koglin to the school record, but Koglin now says the next challenge is the first to hit the 200-foot mark.

Heading into the Drake Relays, Christofferson holds the No. 1 spot in the conference for the women’s hammer throw by almost 10 feet. She is also ranked No. 22 in the nation.

“I’ve had a really good year,” Christofferson said. “I don’t feel that I’m that much stronger, but I feel like I’m in really great shape this year and it’s my last year so I’m putting everything I have into it. Luckily, so far I’m seeing the results.”

At last year’s Relays, Christofferson finished 10th and didn’t advance to the finals. While she felt good about her throw, she knew the competition was some of the best in the country.

It will be no different this year.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Christofferson said. “You know its your last Drake, but at the same time I’m throwing really well right now. I’m looking forward to it.”

While her senior season and her career has had some rough patches, the Hamlin native will try to come to a smooth landing in Des Moines.