Desirea Buerge is set to compete in the discus at the U.S. Olympic Trials June 18-19 at Oregon's Hayward Field. During the two weeks leading up to the event, we are posting a series of stories on Buerge in order to help celebrate her accomplishment and let fans get to know her better.
 
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – It was just a fluke.
 
That's what Desirea Buerge believes about her performance in the discus at the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
 
She fouled on two of her three attempts, but her one good throw traveled 51.83 meters, the ninth-best mark in UTRGV program history, placing her 22^nd out of 48.
 
Many student-athletes would have celebrated that performance, but after missing out on the NCAA Championships, Buerge plans to use the U.S. Olympic Trials to prove that it was just a fluke.
 
Of course, the fact that she even has a track & field career, much less a successful one, was once considered an unlikely thing to happen considering Buerge came from a family that valued basketball over all other sports. In fact, she only began competing in track & field to avoid burning out on playing basketball by having an offseason rather than playing year-round.
 
Buerge's first taste of track & field was in junior high, and she was a natural athlete, competing in multiple events such as the discus, high jump, and the 200-meter dash.
 
At Webb City High School (WCHS) in Webb City, Mo., Buerge concentrated on the discus and the shot put and made an instant impact for the Cardinals.
 
As a sophomore, she was an All-State performer in the discus but was barely scratching the surface of her potential.
 
As a junior, Buerge followed up by winning the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 4 Championship in the discus with a throw of 46.83 meters. She also placed third in the shot put with a launch of 12.89 meters, earning All-State honors in both events.
 
She earned All-State honors in the discus and shot put the following year as well after finishing runner-up in both events at the MSHSAA Class 4 Championships. 
 
Buerge graduated from WCHS holding the program record in the shot put (13.71 meters) and discus (48.43 meters), records that still stand today.
 
Her success and the willingness of her soon-to-be college coaches to let Buerge compete in both basketball and track & field led to her signing at Division II Missouri Southern State University (MSSU), just a 20-minute drive from WCHS.
 
"It was a big deal for me to come in and do two sports, so my identity wasn't completely shattered," Buerge said. 
 
After her freshman basketball season wrapped up, she quickly jumped into track & field, but Buerge struggled during the transition. 
 
"We weren't doing much in the weight room at that time," Buerge said. "We come in and [track & field assistant coach Brain Allen] was like 'I want this many reps and I want it at this weight,' and I'm over here dying."
 
Buerge's struggles went beyond simply adjusting to the weight room, but cleaning up her throwing mechanics.
 
"I had to relearn how to spin for the shot put," Buerge said. "At that first competition, I didn't throw well. I'm pretty sure that I threw less than I did in high school or just around the same numbers. It didn't seem like the spin was paying off."
 
With the support of her teammates and friends, Buerge persevered and began to flourish. 
 
In 2016 and 2017, she was named an All-American by placing 8^th with discus throws of 47.08 meters and 50.08 meters, respectively, at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. 
 
Buerge redshirted her junior season but didn't lose a beat when she stepped back into the rings as a senior. She earned All-American honors once again in both events, finishing runner-up in the shot put (16.15 meters) and fourth in the discus (53.38 meters) at the NCAA Championships.
 
Buerge graduated as the program record holder in the shot put (16.38 meters) and discus (55.54 meters) before receiving a call from UTRGV Women's Basketball Head Coach Lane Lord, who had gotten to know Buerge while coaching against her in basketball at Pittsburg State.
 
Knowing Buerge wanted to continue competing in both basketball and track & field, Lord worked closely with UTRGV Track & Field Head Coach Darren Flowers to make it a reality.
 
"He and I had discussed the possibility of her doing track and I was all for it," Flowers said. "We were working together on this, although he knew the family and so he just took the lead on all of it."
 
Balancing both basketball and throwing, Buerge struggled in the early going as her busy schedule didn't afford her much time to practice with track & field throws coach Brad Foote.
 
"She was doing lifting with the basketball team and then throwing about two days a week," Foote said. "Then when basketball season started, they wanted a little bit more focus on basketball – rightfully so – and I really didn't get to see her again until maybe about January or February and that was possibly once a week."
 
As soon as the 2019-20 basketball season ended, Buerge was fully ready to commit herself to track & field, but she had to wait as the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 outdoor track & field season.
 
Buerge took the pause in stride as she saw an opportunity to fully immerse herself in the sport and readjust her skill set over from basketball.
 
"When COVID happened, it actually helped me so I could actually train and gain more muscle and be able to work on my technique for a full year."
 
When the 2021 season began, Buerge immediately turned heads by setting the third-best discus throw in program history at 52.17 meters, good for second place at Texas' Longhorn Invitational on March 6. 
 
Now competing in just track & field, she began to develop an inseparable bond with her teammates.
 
"We are a complete family," Buerge said. "I'm not going to lie; we're always joking around with each other. We're always getting to each other, trying to push each other to be better. The environment that I have with this team is unlike any other team I've been on."
 
As the season progressed, she exceled, but something continued to evade Buerge. 
 
"There was a big throw that I just hadn't done yet, so I knew I had more in me," Buerge said. 
 
Everything aligned for Buerge and she was able to accomplish what she had been seeking with a massive 58.90-meter program-record setting discus throw at UTSA's Roadrunner Invitational on April 17.
 
"To be able to come this season and show that I could throw 58, almost 59 meters, was something that I knew I could do," Buerge said.
 
The throw allowed Buerge to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trails in Eugene, Ore. from June 18-19. She currently ranks 55^th in the world, 10^th among Americans, seventh in the NCAA and first in the Western Athletic Conference. 
 
After an uncharacteristic performance at the NCAA Championships West Preliminary Round, Buerge is gearing up for a big outing at the U.S. Olympic Trails.
 
"I need to go out and prove that what happened at regionals was just a fluke," Buerge said. "I can go into the trails and make it into finals and be there on the 19^th and show what I can really do."

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