Academic Notes: Majoring in elementary and special education.
Personal Best: Discus (37.41m) Javelin (48.90m)
2014: NAU's top athlete in the women's javelin... Had a very strong sophomore season for which her best mark of 160-5 (48.9m) was good for a spot in the top-three of the NAU record books... Fell just short of a podium spot at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, finishing fourth in the event ... Competed at the NCAA West Prelim for the second consecutive season...
2013: Threw the javelin during the outdoor season ... Became the first javelin athlete, male or female, to compete at the NCAA Championships in NAU history ... Currently ranks third on NAU's all-time list, and had the best javelin marks at NAU in over 25 years ... Owns the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-best throws in school history ... PR of 155-5 (47.38m) came in a clutch performance at the NCAA West Preliminary Round and ultimately qualified her for the NCAA Championships ... Finished 22nd at the national meet and closed her freshman year with a throw of 138-7.25 (42.25m).
High School: A 2012 graduate of Chandler High School, where she competed in basketball and track all four years ... Helped her team to four consecutive state titles in track and field ... Threw her personal best in the javelin (142-5.5) at the USATF Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships, placing seventh, as part of the Arizona Cheetahs Track Club ... Also competed in the 2012 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, where she placed fourth in the javelin ... As part of coach Eric Richardson's Chandler High squad, placed second in the discus and ninth in the shot put at the 2012 AIA Division I State Championships ... Won the discus and the shot put at the Chandler City Meet her senior year.
Personal: Born March 11, 1994 to Chris and Angie Knutsen in Chandler, Ariz. ... Has one brother, Jayce, and one sister, Haley ... Also considered Arizona State, Nebraska, and St. Mary's before choosing NAU ... Best athlete she has competed against, at the 2012 ASU Classic, is Brittany Borman, three-time NCAA javelin champion at Oklahoma and 2012 Olympic Trials javelin champion ... Mother Angie also attended and graduated from NAU ... Father Chris wrestled at Iowa State in 1985, and uncle Eddie Urbano wrestled for ASU in 1981 ... Chose NAU for its closeness to home and to family, and for her love of the program, the coach, and the team.
