Olympic-sized goals are in the forefront for Brock Eager, who first must tackle his new role as this season's Men's track field events captain.
 
Eager, a redshirt junior from Renton, Wash., comes from a family of track and field athletes. He was introduced to the sport at the age of three months old, when his parents took him to watch his first track meet. He hails from a family of athletes: his older brother, Derek, threw javelin at the UCLA and his older sister, Kylie, competed in volleyball and track and field at Clark Community College. His father, Keith, is the backbone behind the participation.
 
"My dad is our driving force," Eager said, "He introduced us to it all."
 
Keith is a high school teacher and track and field coach at Tahoma High School. Brock would attend his father's track meets and practices as a kid and would try the different events. Keith saw that there was definitely talent in Brock as he was throwing exceptionally far distances in shot put and discus, as just a twelve-year-old.
 
When Eager was in the seventh grade, his father's coaching friend, Howie Kellogg, introduced Eager and his brother to the hammer throw. Because the event is not very popular, Kellogg saw it as a good way for the boys to gain recognition from college coaches.
 
"My first time holding the hammer, I knew it felt right," Eager said. "I knew that I had found the right event for me."
 
He was not wrong. Brock Eager won the hammer throw at the 2017 Pac-12 Championships and was the runner-up in 2018. He became the first WSU man to win the conference title in the event since 1988. In his time at WSU, four of his throws have placed him in the top-seven best marks at the school, in both hammer and indoor event, the 35-pound weight throw.
 
"His drive is something we all build off," said teammate Amani Brown. "We've seen how far he's come and the impact he's made through his hard work. Pac-12 championships aren't handed over, but earned. And he has passion; he wants the best for all of us as a collective, and shows his support in other areas outside of throwing on our team."
 
Eager's athletic excellence is not limited to track and field. Throughout his life, the athlete participated in a variety of sports to build to the athleticism he holds today. He was a wrestler for twelve years, and a soccer and baseball player for eight. Competition is his drive.
 
"Whether it's being better at something than my brother, winning an event, or even just doing well on a test, the competitive nature is what it boils down to," Eager said. "I push myself until I win."
 
The push comes from wanting to impress not only himself, but his family. Eager says his inspiration to succeed stems from wanting to thank them for opening the door of sports to him. They've given him the tools to train and achieve his goals, especially his next one, the Olympics.
 
Eager is working towards gaining a few more meters in his hammer throw to qualify him for the 2020 Olympics. Achieving this goal will be Eager's way of finally allowing himself to believe he's "made it."
 
"He's easily going to be successful," said Brown when asked about Eager's quest towards Olympic participation. "His discipline and focus on where he wants to go and what he wants to accomplish will take him there."
 
As he prepares for the top level of competition, Eager is also preparing for his senior year at WSU. The construction management major is looking forward to graduation and seeing what life has in store for him. He plans on eventually becoming a college coach for a big conference school.
 
"I've been around the sport for so long I can't imagine not putting my experience and knowledge to use," Eager said.