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NEW YORK – Slippery Rock University assistant track & field coach Jordan Geist won the 2026 United States Track & Field national title in the shot put Sunday evening at the USATF Championships at Icahn Stadium in New York City, earning the first national title of his professional career.
 
Geist won the competition with a throw of 22.32 meters (73' 2.75") and landed four throws over 22 meters in the series while no other competitors reached the 22.0-meter marker. His very first throw of the meet (21.97m) was enough to hold up for the win, but he followed that up with tosses of 22.31 meters, 22.14 meters, 22.09 meters and the eventual winning mark of 22.32 meters on the very last throw of the event.
 
"We are so proud of Jordan and excited to be part of the incredible season he is having," said SRU head coach Bill Jordan. "Our student-athletes getting to learn from and train alongside one of the very best throwers in the world is such a privilege and something that certainly isn't happening at most Division II schools."
 
The Slippery Rock connection to Geist's success goes much deeper than just providing him with a place to train and work on his craft. One of the coaches alongside him this week in New York was SRU Hall of Famer and former discus record holder Gary Aldrich, who was the men's throws coach for the U.S.A. Olympic team in each of the last two Olympics. Aldrich, who serves as the head track & field coach at Carnegie Mellon University, has been working with Geist since he returned to Pennsylvania and his role at SRU. Also alongside him were parents Judy Geist and Jim Geist, who are also both in the SRU Hall of Fame for their athletic accomplishments and have been instrumental in coaching him and the SRU throwers.
 
"It's pretty special to have Slippery Rock represented so well at the highest levels of track & field," said Jordan. "Judy and Jim have meant so much to our program as volunteers over the years and to have them here working alongside Jordan has created an incredible culture for our throwers. It's not a cliche when we say that unit operates like a family."
 
Geist just wrapped up his first year as the throws coach at The Rock, where his student-athletes broke three school records and won three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles in his first season with the program. He led a dominant SRU throws squad to the men's indoor shot put title, the men's outdoor discus title and the women's outdoor shot put crown. He guided shot putter Seaton Wozniak to a pair of All-America honors in 2025-26 and guided hammer thrower Zach Gose to the first All-America honor of his career this spring. Wozniak set the men's indoor shot put record and Gose broke both the indoor weight throw record and the outdoor hammer throw records in 2025-26. Geist also oversaw the return to competition for Savannah Schneck, who won the PSAC outdoor shot put title with a career-best effort after returning from knee surgery last year.
 
The USA title was the latest in a stellar outdoor season for Geist, who is the current leader in the Wanda Diamond League men's shot put standings. His 22 points in the standings have already locked up his spot in the Diamond League final this September in Brussels, where he is guaranteed to be one of the six men vying for the prestigious Diamond League title. With two scoring events left, he is the only men's shot putter in the world to have locked up a spot in the final.
 
His season and career-best throw of 22.44 meters, which came in Memphis on July 10, is currently the third-best mark in the world this year. Geist is scheduled to compete at the Diamond League meet in Zurich, Switzerland Aug. 27 and the Diamond League finals Sept. 5 in Brussels, Belgium.





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