“He’s big and strong and agile and quick and explosive — pretty much looks like a defensive lineman or a tight end. Most people would think that he was a football player, but he’d tell you that he didn’t want to be. His success is built around what he does, he believes he can control his own destiny and that is what he likes to do.”

He is Jamie Beyer and the words used to describe him are those of Iowa State throwing coach Dan O’Mara.

Beyer is a big guy and he’s doing big things.

Just two weeks ago, he was selected the “National Male Athlete of the Year” by the National Congress of State Games.

After taking first at the 1999 Iowa Games, Beyer was thrown into a pool of 500,000 athletes around the country. From these athletes, he was chosen and will be flown to Albuquerque on Oct. 2 to receive the award.

“It’s quite an honor that I was selected — it was a good surprise,” Beyer said.

But being named “National Male Athlete” is just one of Beyer’s many 1999 titles.

During the spring track season, this multiple All-American pulled down the following titles and honors: Big 12 Indoor champion and second place at NCAA indoors in the shot; 10th in discus at NCAA indoors; Big 12 shot-put and discus champ at Big 12 meet; fourth in shot-put and 10th in discus at NCAA outdoors.

In the summer of 1999, he competed at the U.S. Track and Field Championships, placing sixth. From there, Beyer went on to snag a second place at the Pan Am Games.

The Pan Am Games were held in Winnipeg, Canada, and Beyer said the opening ceremonies alone were reason enough for going.

The fact that he came home with a silver finish was just the icing on the cake.

He was overwhelmed by the brilliant festivities and the 40,000 – 50,000 onlookers during the opening ceremonies.

“I remember being about midfield and looking back to see four to five rows stretching 100 yards across and knowing how dominant the [U.S.] athletes were and what we could end up doing there,” he said.

On the field, Beyer threw further than he ever had, a 66-meter distance that would have garnered the gold had he been able to stay in the ring.

Nonetheless, Beyer expressed more enthusiasm than disappointment regarding the two big throws because they “felt easy.”

Plus, he beat an NCAA rival, Brad Snyder, for the first time in his career.

“Second was great to get. I ended up beating Brad Snyder, who beats me at NCAA competitions. It was a good feeling to finally beat him and step it up,” he said.

As at home as Beyer is in his sport, he wasn’t always an all-track kind of guy. As a youngster, he also excelled in other sports.

He started throwing as a seventh-grader because he was “too heavyset” to be a runner. He had the build, but didn’t limit himself to track alone.

In high school at Prairie City-Monroe, he made the All-State basketball team and achieved All-Academic status in both basketball and football.

In track and field, he excelled both in the high jump and throws, placing fifth in the high jump at the state meet and making the nation’s top ten in shot.

But when the time came, Beyer chose to go with track and field at the university level and he provided a list of reasons for doing so.

His on the field explosiveness was a gift working to his advantage, and it’s a gift not every thrower has.

He just didn’t envision himself as a football player. He didn’t like the hits and didn’t get as much from the sport.

He liked the individual responsibility that track and field offered. The weight of the competition’s outcome rested on his shoulders.

“There’s no saying, ‘we lost because of this person or that one.’ It’s what you do, and there’s nothing to hide behind. I like the challenge of that,” Beyer said.

Knowing track and field was in his future and knowing that he wanted to pursue an engineering degree, Iowa State was a logical choice for Beyer — it offered him the strong academic and athletic programs for which he was looking.

Iowa State head coach Steve Lynn described Beyer as a “very talented athlete,” noting that few throwers have athletic abilities outside of their specialty.

“We knew he was an athlete coming in,” Lynn said.

Upon his arrival, Coach O’Mara introduced Beyer to a new throwing technique — the spin.

Beyer had been a glider in high school, and O’Mara felt the spin would increase Beyer’s potential to throw farther and maximize his strength.

Beyer said it was easy to put faith in O’Mara from the get-go because the coach was also a successful thrower at the collegiate level and had the experience and expertise.

“[O’Mara] has been so great as far as seeing my potential and helping me work toward it,” Beyer said.

Lynn also sang praises for the work O’Mara has done with Beyer.

“He has done a great job as far as working on technique with Beyer,” he said.

And both Lynn and O’Mara credit Beyer for his talent and motivation.

“He is very motivated to meet goals and that is the very thing that separates people — natural talent,and then the ability to focus on that talent and do the things that are needed in order to get better,” Lynn said. “He’s gotten better every year.”

But getting better took work. With a new technique, Beyer had some adjusting to do, not to mention the fact he had to acclimate himself to the university weight levels.

But he knew the “cost of improvement,” and he has been paying his dues.

“Switching to the spin allowed me to use my explosive-ess. It uses more leverage instead of straight strength,” he said.

Adjusting to the spin move didn’t hinder his performance too much, as he won the 1997 Big 12 shot-put title and placed sixth at the NCAA indoors as a sophomore.

In the outdoor meets, he placed third at the NCAA meet and participated at the U.S. Track and Field Championships.

Beyer’s success story doesn’t end there — it’s still in the works.

He has another track season ahead of him and has high hopes of some long tosses.

In addition, he has already qualified for the Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif. next July. There, he will look to live out his Olympic dreams.

“I’ll be looking forward to that, but I have a ways to go before I get there. If everything clicks for me that day, it’s a possibility,” Beyer said. “I’m going to work toward that this year and give it all I’ve got.”