Kirk Unland had one of those special moments at the Mountain West Outdoor Track Championships a couple of weeks ago.

He's looking for another one today at the NCAA West Preliminary in Sacramento.

A Cowboy sophomore, Unland's specialty is the hammer throw. During the conference championship in Fresno earlier this month he produced a personal-best mark of 205 feet, 11 inches, to win the title. It was the first time the Spokane, Wash., native had ever cleared 200 feet collegiately.

Remarkably, from his freshman season a year ago to that event in Fresno, Unland has added over 20 feet to his personal best throw! That's progress.

"The conference championship was a special day for me," says the personable big man. "After it happened, I realized I had experienced something special, I had been in a special place."

One would say that Unland's ceiling is very high.

It was all about his approach to the competition. "The key is not over-thinking it," he says, "keeping your mind open. Competition really gets me going, but it's all about turning off my mind."

That mind "shut down" allowed him to top his previous personal best by six feet!

"When you are in a competition like the conference meet or the NCAA's, it's all about technique and that mind set," he says. "Those competitions, those big events, require high-intensity throws with guys who are extremely talented, who really know what they are doing. I love that, it's what I thrive on."

Unland is realistic about the NCAA competition. "I know it's going to take another big throw, bigger than at the MW, for me to accomplish my goals at the NCAA's. I've proven I can do it. This probably won't make sense, but I'm going to be aggressive, yet mellow. By that I mean certain body parts will be relaxed, some will be tense. Timing and the right mind set will be very important."

To say the hammer runs in the Unland family is an understatement.

Kirk's father, Kyle, was a 1989 All-American in the hammer during his collegiate days at Washington State, and is listed among the school's Top 10 to this day. Kirk's brother, Damon who is two years older, competed with him at Wyoming and won the hammer two years in a row at the conference championships.

Dad is still at it, competing on the 'master's' circuit.

"Dad was our coach through high school, says Unland. "He really got the ball rolling for Damon and I. He still gives us pointers once in a while, but he lets our coach here (Carrie Lane) do the coaching. He's very respectful of her."

Was dad disappointed when his two hammer-throwing sons became Cowboys instead of Cougars?  "Oh, sure he was," Kirk says. "I know he wanted us to be Cougars. But he was great about understanding it was our choice. I visited Washington State, and it wasn't a fit for me. My visit here was comfortable, plus Damon was here. I could certainly understand why Damon came here. Neither one of us have regretted our decision to become Cowboys."

While he is 6-6, Unland is not as physical as many of his opponents. "I'm not near has strong as other throwers," he admits. "I hurt my back during my freshman indoor season so I have to be careful in the weight room. It's a balancing act in there. I have to find a balance that will get me stronger while not hurting my back."

Early-on, Unland actually thought his future was in the javelin. While he competed in all of the throws in high school, he thought his ticket to a collegiate scholarship would be in that throw. "But I dislocated my shoulder playing football, and that forced me to change my course," he says. "I couldn't throw the javelin as effectively as I could prior to the injury. So my focus had to turn toward the hammer. It has worked out, and I'm very happy with that sport."

Unland is majoring in Kinesiology, and wants to be a physician assistant when he stops throwing things. He plans to attend graduate school when he's finished with his undergraduate degree. "I want to be a physician's right-hand man," he says. An Academic All-Mountain West performer, he doesn't have a preference for grad school. "It doesn't matter to me where graduate school takes me, it's wherever I can get in."

While Damon is older than Kirk, they did spend two years together as Cowboys. "It was a rich experience," Unland says. "That's something special, and we realized what we had doesn't happen very often. I really miss him being here. We had similar mindsets, and we really enjoyed training together."

It would be unnatural if Kirk didn't want to out-perform his brother, or his father. "Damon has more titles, so I want to get him on that, and I want to do better than dad's personal best (211-9). I have two more years to do it, so I feel good about getting the better of them. If I can do that, those two would never hear the end of it, believe me," he laughs.

Who's better looking, he or his brother? "I'm not going to say, but I do know this, I'm taller than he is, and have more charm and charisma than he does," he says with a big grin.