OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 8, 2021) – "OC is Home" – known as the primary marketing slogan of Oklahoma Christian University – reigns as a colloquial phrase among students and stands as a key reason many people choose to get their degree at OC.
 
For junior track and field thrower Jonathan Olsson, the feeling of home became the main deciding factor in choosing where to go to college.
 
Olsson grew up in Emporia, Kan., where he attended Emporia High School, playing football and competing in throwing events such as shot put and javelin. Although he started throwing his freshman year, Olsson said he did it just to stay in shape for football season, until his junior year when he started to improve his technique and get competitive.
 
"In high school, I wasn't where I wanted to be for my first two years, especially as someone who is so competitive," Olsson said. "Then, junior year, something just clicked and I started throwing way further than I ever had, set some personal bests and made it to the state meet."
 
At the Kansas Class 5A state track and field met his junior year, held at Wichita State, Olsson said he "laid an egg and did not throw very well." Even so, he placed eighth in the shot put and 12th in the javelin.

Olsson said he prides himself on working hard, and after that performance, he continued to improve, competed at a high level and qualified again for the state meet his senior year. He placed fifth in the shot put and 11th in the javelin.
 
At Emporia High School, Olsson currently holds the record in shot put (51 feet, 8½ inches) and owns the second-longest javelin throw (179 feet, 7 inches).
 
When the spring of Olsson's senior year rolled around, he had his heart set on playing football in college. He sent information to a few schools, but eventually, he decided to follow his heart and walk on at Kansas State to play NCAA Division I football.
 
"I really liked the culture," Olsson said. "I felt after a year or two there as a walk on, I could eventually earn a scholarship, because I enjoy hard work and thought they would notice me."
 
But while at Kansas State's summer football practice, Olsson said he felt uneasy about the decision and never quite felt at home. 
 
"I think the biggest thing was I never really felt like I had made the right decision," Olsson said. "There was always this big cloud of homesickness I could never shake, even being just 90 minutes from my house. After two months, I couldn't handle it anymore and decided I needed to step away."
 
Just weeks before the start of Earn Your Wings, OC's freshman orientation, Olsson switched gears and decided to call Oklahoma City and Oklahoma Christian home.
 
"Just in the first week of being on campus, I felt at home," Olsson said.
 
Since OC does not have a football team, Olsson decided to walk on to the track and field team at the university and start throwing again. Olsson joined the Eagles halfway through his freshman year and said the team made him feel right at home.
 
"When I joined late my freshman year, everyone was just super kind to me and made me feel like one of them," Olsson said.
 
OC track and field coach Wade Miller said Olsson's all-around drive to pursue his dreams makes Olsson a great athlete.
 
"Jonathan has taken advantage of his work ethic and determination," Miller said, "to learn the technique of new events and gain strength and discipline to attain a higher level of competition. He has also been a great example for his younger teammates who are still working to go through that transition."
 
Olsson's strong work ethic and determination has afforded him success in his two-plus years at Oklahoma Christian. He earned five All-Great American Conference awards as a freshman – one first-team honor in the indoor shot put and second-team honors in the weight throw, javelin, outdoor shot put and hammer.

As a sophomore, he finished eighth in the weight throw (48 feet, 4½ inches) and ninth in the shot put (47 feet, 1¾ inches) at the Lone Star Conference Indoor Championships – posting career-best marks in both events – before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the outdoor season.

One of Olsson's most memorable collegiate performances came during his freshman indoor season at Pittsburg State's Rumble in the Jungle Invitational. Olsson threw the shot put 44 feet, 2 inches, to place fifth – a strong finish, but the story behind that throw was what made it memorable.
 
Because it was a "barrier" meet – one in which a thrower must hit a mark past a certain line before meet officials will even measure it – Olsson said he entered the meet not even thinking he would have a throw measured. But after surpassing the barrier mark, Olsson said it was his favorite moment of competition as an Eagle. 
 
"The mark was about 18 inches further than I had ever thrown the college shot," Olsson said. "I was chatting with a friend from another team and we both were joking around how we needed to throw way over our personal bests to get a measurement.

"Then, in my first throw, I pop one out there just past the mark and I am just amazed. Then, my next throw was just a little further. eventually on my last throw I tossed it over 44 feet, which was over two feet further than I had thrown since high school. I got cheered on by both my friends on the team and my friend from another team, which was honestly a great feeling after a big personal-best performance."
 
This season brings a lot of uncertainties for Olsson and the Eagles' track and field team. Despite facing a year of unknowns, Olsson said he knows the team will work hard and stay together through it all.
 
"The team is honestly great," Olsson said. "It's a team of hard workers. Everyone wants to grind out in practice and in the weight room, which is just awesome. The coaches are superb. From top to bottom, everyone knows what they're doing and wants to make us as good as we can be as athletes, men and women and in our faith."