LARAMIE – Four centimeters.
 
That's the distance Cam Burkett missed qualifying for the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships by.
 
Wyoming's senior shot putter focused on the small things in the "dungeon" in the War Memorial Fieldhouse basement with throws coach Paul Barrett during the offseason.
 
Barrett's attention to detail and Burkett's dedication have paid off for the Pokes in the ring during the indoor season.
 
Burkett has won three consecutive shot-put titles – at the Colorado Classic (18.70 meters), the Bobcat Challenge (19.05 meters) and the Potts Invitational (19.05 meters) – while setting facility records in Boulder, Colo., and Bozeman, Mont.
 
A large contingent from the UW track & field team, including Burkett, will compete at the Battle Born Classic in Reno, Nev., this Friday and Saturday. The site will host the Mountain West indoor championships Feb. 26-28.
 
"I'm finally figuring stuff out," Burkett said. "Throughout my career, if I look back at the numbers, I've always struggled at indoors. Me and Coach (Barrett) have the dungeon downstairs in the athletic facility and that's where we're working a lot on the technique and finally getting aggressive at the toe hold.
 
"I haven't hit the throw I want to yet, I've fouled a lot of big throws, but I think here soon I'll be hitting some marks I'm supposed to hit."
 
Burkett believes he has a 20-meter in him, but admitted he needs to throw 19.5 meters first. These are the steps to the top of the podium.
 
Daniel Reynolds won the Mountain West indoor title for the Cowboys last year with a throw of 19.05 meters (62 feet, six inches).
 
Competing with Reynolds, who won a national championship in weight throw during the indoor season and earned All-American honors in the hammer throw and shot put at the outdoor championships, boosted Burkett's development.
 
"Daniel definitely helped push him. Any time you get two guys that are pretty elite in the same event it just creates a competitive atmosphere. There is no doubt he has played a role in Cam coming up," Barrett said. "Each year we've cleaned up Cam's technique, made little changes, and his strength has gotten higher each year. As a senior sometimes the gains are a little more minimal, but he has actually done really well in all areas. I'm pretty excited about that.
 
"We're hoping Cam can make a jump in the next couple weeks and get to the NCAAs. He needs to move up a little bit."
 
Burkett currently ranks 23^rd in Division I. The top 16 throwers qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Ark.
 
At the MW championships, Burkett's strongest conference rival will be longtime rival Texas Tanner, a senior at Air Force from Sheridan with the nation's third best throw (19.83) of the season under his belt.
 
"To win the Mountain West is going to be tough because I've competed against Texas Tanner my entire throwing career in high school and college," Burkett said. "He's a very good thrower, he's going to be fun to throw against and he's going to be tough to beat, but I think it's going to be a close meet."
 
Four years ago, when Burkett was a senior at Kelly Walsh, he came up with his biggest throw in the biggest meet – breaking the Wyoming high school shot put record with a toss of 64 feet, 2 3/4 inches.
 
The mark broke the existing record (63-8 ½) set by former UW offensive lineman Logan Harris of Torrington in 2017. On his final throw, Burkett extended his record with a throw of 65-1 ¼.
 
Cheyenne's John Godina previously held the record at 63-1 before going on to win a silver medal in the 1996 Olympics and a bronze in the 2000 Olympics.
 
Burkett started his prep career as a sprinter at KW, but after not having an outdoor season as a sophomore due to the COVID-19 pandemic and breaking a collarbone playing hockey, he gained weight while admittedly spending too much time on the couch and in bed.
 
"I was 205 (pounds) sophomore year and came into preseason high school football junior year and I was weighing 245. That's a big jump," Burkett said. "I started getting injuries from football and started hurting my body more and more. I just thought, I like throwing, shot put is pretty fun, I think I'm going to keep doing this."
 
Burkett had conversations with Craig Bohl's staff about playing football for the Cowboys but instead committed to UW track & field. He had other opportunities around the country but wanted to attend college as close to his family in Casper as possible.
 
Entering this weekend's meet, Burkett is tied with Reynolds for third in school history for longest indoor shot put (62-6 inches) behind Mason Finley (66-3 ¼ in 2014) and Jason Gervais (64-7 in 2000).
 
Now he is chasing championships and All-American dreams like Reynolds did a year ago.
 
"When I was a freshman, we went to an Air Force meet and that was when Daniel was still at Chadron State. We saw him throw and Coach was like, 'I like this kid,'" Burkett recalled. "Little did we know a year later he hits the transfer portal and we were like, 'Let's get him.'
 
"Coach had me host his visit here and he said he loved it here. It was awesome that he came here and seeing him be such an athlete, I think that's what helped me grow as an athlete, too."
 
Burkett finished fourth at the MW indoor championships last season, one spot behind Tanner. He will enter the spring schedule fourth in UW history (63-1) behind Reynolds (64-1 ¾ in 2025), Gervais (63-11 ¾, 2000) and Jason Hammond (63-5 ¾ in 2000) for longest outdoor shot put.
 
The goal is for Burkett to finish his career in Eugene, Ore., at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June at Historic Hayward Field.
 
"Four centimeters is pretty heartbreaking. An inch and a quarter," Barrett said of Burkett's near miss in 2025. "It has kind of haunted him all year and I'm hoping he is using that as motivation, which I'm sure he is. Definitely as a senior we want to get him to nationals and get All-American status."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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