LARAMIE – Allyson Fertig wanted to throw something.
 
After the Cowgirls' heartbreaking triple-overtime defeat in the Mountain West Championship in Las Vegas and the loss to Texas Tech in the opening round of the WBIT at the Arena-Auditorium, the Wyoming basketball legend decided to join the track & field team.
 
Fertig reached out to longtime UW throws coach Paul Barrett about competing in the shot put this spring to cap her memorable senior year.
 
"I was excited to get the email. I said, 'Absolutely, we would have a lot of fun,'" Barrett said. "She's student teaching so there's not a lot of time (to practice), but I didn't need much since she's doing only one event. It worked out pretty perfectly."
 
On April 5, Fertig played in the Women's College All-Star Game in Tampa, Fla., as part of the NCAA women's Final Four weekend. Two weeks and 2,500 air miles later at the Long Beach Invitational she threw 47 feet, 10 ¾ inches (14.60 meters).
 
The outdoor mark ranks 10^th in UW history and is the fifth-best shot put in the Mountain West this season.
 
"I'm more surprised I was able to pick it up from not throwing since 2021," Fertig said.
 
Fertig won two state championships in the shot put at Douglas High School before focusing on basketball with the Cowgirls.
 
The 6-foot-4 center from Glendo leaves UW as the program's all-time leader in rebounds (1,216), second in scoring (1,860 points) behind Christine Fairless (1,933, 1985-89) and third in blocks (210) behind Lori Kline (322, 1979-82) and Hillary Carlson (212, 2008-11).
 
"For her to step out of the box and say this is something I want to do, and not only do it but be successful at, it just shows who Allyson is," UW women's basketball coach Heather Ezell said of her star pupil's transition to the shot put. "But it's not shocking to see the numbers she has already put up and the success she's had. That's another testament to her work ethic and what she's done here her whole career."
 
Fertig will compete with the track & field team at the Doug Max Invite on Saturday in Fort Collins. She was third in the Border Dual last weekend with a mark of 47-05.65 to earn a point in the Cowgirls' 70-20 rout of the rival Rams.
 
Barrett, who describes this year as "surreal" after coaching Daniel Reynolds to an NCAA indoor championship in the weight throw, has helped fast track Fertig's abbreviated shot put career at UW.
 
"I'm not an expert at throwing and that's his job to coach me up," Fertig said. "Sometimes coaches overcomplicate it and the athlete has no clue what they're doing. He has been doing a great job for me dumbing it down and explaining it in a way I can succeed and do what he wants me to do."
 
Barrett believes Fertig would be added to the long list of All-Americans he has coached had she come to UW for throws instead of basketball.
 
"Obviously, she's athletic and explosive and tall and long, all the things we look for. I just had to get her in the weight room a little more intense, bring the levels up, which she has pretty quickly," Barrett said. "I could tell probably after the second practice she had that potential with some time. It doesn't surprise me at all. What's a little frustrating is if I had her for another year or even six months, she could really make a jump and be nationally at that level."
 
During her four years on campus, Fertig has done just about everything possible on and off the court. The three-time all-MW selection and 2024-25 conference player of the year is the president of UW's Student Athlete Advisory Committee and is an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership team.
 
"These four years I've had such different experiences traveling with basketball and different opportunities like the all-star game and now track," Fertig said. "I've been telling people I'm kind of ready to settle down. I've done enough traveling for my entire life. It has been a great opportunity. I don't think I've said no to any opportunities. I don't have any regrets."
 
Fertig will graduate from UW this month with a degree in secondary education. She is planning to begin a professional basketball career in Europe before returning home and teaching mathematics in a few years.
 
"On the academic side she's going to graduate with exactly what she wants in the time frame she wants it done. Then to be able to be successful in multiple sports – she's all over our record books and she's about to be all over the (track & field) record books, too. It's pretty incredible," Ezell said. "She has put herself out there to be a part of so many different things and taken advantage of what it means to be a student-athlete. Her résumé is already filled in multiple ways.
 
"Whenever the time comes that she hands her (basketball) shoes in and ends that chapter, I know if there's any way I could have (my daughter) Dylan be taught by Allyson I'd be all for it because she's going to be an incredible teacher, too."
 
Fertig finished with 17 points and 18 rebounds in 54 minutes in the MW title game in Las Vegas, but the Cowgirls suffered an agonizing 72-68 loss that prevented them from reaching the NCAA Tournament.
 
But it was not the end of her athletic career in the brown and gold. Fertig will compete in the MW Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 15-17 in Fresno, Calif.
 
"I've really learned these last couple years that my identity is not in my performance, whether that's team performance or individual performance," Fertig reflected. "For me it was pretty easy to get over because it's in the past. We worked hard but most of the players in women's basketball work their butts off so they deserved the win. We both deserved it, but they came out on top.
 
"It was devastating in the moment but a couple days afterwards I was over it and track was my next goal."
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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