Making His Mark

When Maryland junior Jeff Kline came to Maryland, he knew the Terps were a program on the rise with promise across the board.

Fast forward three years, and the shot put specialist has shot up the all-time leaderboard in program history and will be representing the red, white, black and gold at NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas for the first time this Wednesday.

His journey to get to this point is one that accelerated throughout his junior year, taking major strides overall.

Now, as the Terps continue to build a solid foundation toward becoming a national name, Kline is at the forefront of the throws team, part of the charge toward continued success.

“We’re definitely rebuilding the shot put and throws program overall since bringing back the men’s program,” Kline said. “It’s definitely a way to continue good progress forward for everyone. To know that I was able to help build the program to where it can be in the future is a great honor.”

Maryland got a great one in the Blandon, Pennsylvania native out of high school, a multi-time track and field MVP, a New Balance Nationals All-American in 2020 and a state, district and county champion.

He came to College Park set to compete in both shot put and discus, two events that the Terps haven’t been able to crack the national landscape at since the start of the 21st century.

Upon his arrival at Maryland, just two athletes posted top-10 marks in both events, especially shot put, where Josh Haghighi’s mark of 17.67 meters in 2014 was the best mark in nearly 30 years.

What better time than the present for him to get to work, and that began immediately upon his arrival, with top-five finishes in his freshman outdoor season, two wins in shot put his sophomore year, and qualification for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in consecutive years.

“I knew Jeff definitely had a certain skill set, a certain talent for shot put,” Maryland throws coach Tyler Burdorff said. “Getting here, it was trying to figure out the ins and outs of what makes Jeff tick. He had a pretty experienced level of coaching at the high school level, so it was trying to find different holes to keep everything dialed in for him.”

Kline broke into the top-10 all-time as a freshman, sitting in fourth place with a throw of 18.58 meters at the Jesse Owens Invitational in 2021. 

He was mere centimeters away from reaching second place all-time, but the real goal was No. 1, held by Ian Pyka since 1979 with a throw of 19.8 meters, more than a meter ahead of No. 2.

If anyone was to close the gap, it would be Kline, and his unique throwing motion made him that much more of a watch at Maryland and across the country.

“One of the biggest things this year was bringing his base up, bringing his lower results up so we could increase the ceiling,” Burdorff said. “... I knew his throw was unique coming in after seeing him before. My goal was to take his technique and mold it more toward that, to make his already different style of throwing better and more efficient.”

As his college resume grew, he took to social media, a return to the medium, and continuously posted his progress, especially once he got to Maryland. 

Amongst the throwing community, Kline gained a following and stuck with it, not being afraid to show the highs and lows of the sport. @jeff_the_thrower became Jeff the known name, with nearly 2,700 followers so far.

“When I first really got into it was my senior year in high school when I was having a really good season,” Kline said. “I was posting every single week and then I kind of went away with that for a few years. … Then, last summer, when I went to train back home, a bunch of people I was training with were in the process of consistently posting, so it was just a matter of I’ve got to get back into it and find what works best for me.”

That hard work, from the weight room to the circle, gave way to his junior year, his breakout year with the Terps and a year where he dropped discus to focus on shot put full-time.

It paid off as he won three events and became the second Terp in program history to break the 19 meter mark. Not only did Kline move into second place for shot put for Maryland, but he put himself within striking distance of Pyka’s 44-year record with a personal best of 19.11 meters.

“I definitely believe that focusing on just that one event 100 percent helped me get to where I am now, due to the constant focus on the consistency of the technique and the feeling of the throw as the year continued to go on,” Kline said. 

His performances, including his 18.84 meter throw at NCAA East First Round, secured him a top-12 finish to advance to NCAA Championships as he is set to make his debut on the national stage at 8:30 p.m., Wednesday in Austin.

Kline’s accomplishments have been an effect of hard work translating into success. Since he came to Maryland, his goal has been to grow the throws program and bring prominence back to College Park.

“I think that Jeff has put himself in a really good position to do well,” Burdorff said. “It’s been cool from my point of view to watch his progression over the year. … His goals and his highs are always on the highest level that he can get to.”

Even in talking about Austin, where he will represent the Terps proudly, it’s about improving his current best to set a target for next season.

“I’m just looking forward to getting there and doing what I have to do on the day to be able to perform and represent the team,” Kline said. “My goal is to continue to meet the standard I’ve set for myself every single day.”

At Penn Relays earlier this season, he posted a top-seven finish with a throw of 19.04 meters, showing just what he can do against the nation’s best.

Now, he’ll have the ability to do that once more as he looks to compete on the same level as his equals and grow the sport of shot put, just like he has through social media and his Maryland career.

“I’m doing it for myself, but more importantly, I’m doing it to represent the Maryland track and field program,” Kline said. “We’re still around and we still have a lot of fight in us.”