When you 'Google' Rodney, Michigan, you’ll find a town that has a population of a few thousand people. The town has a general store, gas station, post office, dollar store, and a bar and grill restaurant. On Jun. 27, the town added a notable label to its name: home of an Olympic Trials finalist. 

This is where current Grand Valley State University Track and Field athlete, Erika Beistle, grew up. While she competed for the Big Rapids Cardinals at the high school level, Beistle still says the town means a lot to her.

“I'm just a small-town girl,” Beistle said. “I didn't grow up in a big city. This is where I'm from. This is where I grew up. I love Rodney and everything about it.”

During her time initially playing sports, she didn’t have a sport that stuck out as a favorite. The story of finding a favorite began when her and her sister decided to compete in track and field in high school; however, the story almost was erased before it ever began.

“I actually wanted to quit,” Beistle recalled. “But I had some pretty great high school coaches that kept saying ‘you can do this’ and ‘you could go to college for it and get a scholarship’. I was like, ‘oh, wow, okay’, and kept doing it. (I then) broke high school records in the process and loved it.”

Beistle would go onto to dominate for the Cardinals in her prep career. Following a shot put conference championship her freshman year, she began to show an unlimited amount of potential. In her final senior season, she would win a state championship in both shot put and discus. She also finished in the top-21 in the entire U.S. at The Outdoor National high school meet. 

She would sign to Grand Valley State University during her standout season, a program with national prominence in tack and field for many years. While the competition got harder, it didn’t stop Beistle from standing out. She would receive USTFCCCA first-team all American status her freshman season in discus, finishing runner-up at the Division II National Championships. 

When asked about what pushed her to reach the top level, she said it’s both internal and external motivation.

“I think I've always been really competitive. I always want to be my best and I always want to be better than the person next to me. I have a lot of people who keep pushing me and supporting me, and that's what keeps me going.”

Her next two seasons as a Laker would re-write the record books, as she would break the school record in discus along with collecting three national championship trophies in indoor shot put, outdoor shot put, and outdoor discus. In fact, her mark in discus was only a few feet off the Division II collegiate record. 

 

^{Beistle wearning her Olympic Trials finalist medal. Photo credit to GVSU Athletics and Erika Beistle.}

While she was bummed for not reaching the mark, the throw did also earn her a prestigious ticket to the nation’s top track and field event: the 2024 Olympic Trials.

“It was really intimidating coming in, standing next to all these amazing women and top athletes in their field and getting there to practice at Hayward,” Beistle said. “I think I had an advantage in the weeks prior, as (it was) my third time competing there.”

Beistle would go on to compete alongside 524 other women for a spot on the Olympic team. While her initial plan was to just make the discus final, the Rodney product surpassed early expectations. As the youngest competitor in the field, she would qualify for the finals and finish in fourth place overall with a throw of 62.50 meters. Beistle was only five hundredths of a meter way from securing her spot to Paris to compete for Team USA.

“We just did our best,” Beistle said regarding her original gameplan with her coaches. “We ended up PR’ing and broke a school record in the process. Then, we made it to finals and broke another school record in the process and took forth. I don't know how to describe the feeling. It was so overwhelming for sure.”

When it comes to the next goal for the former Cardinal, there are two goals in mind: throwing the Division II discus record and competiting in a Team USA jersey during the 2028 Olympics.

You can watch our full exclusive interview with Beistle on Monday, July 15, on the News Radio WBRN YouTube Page. Subscribe to not miss it at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl3KzR5d57uNY3bsTX1h3Cg.

_{Headline photo credit to GVSU Athletics and Erika Beistle.}