Orrville’s Beichler commits to throw for Fighting Irish
Orrville's Talon Beichler, seen here competing at last year's OHSAA State Championships, will continue his athletic career at Notre Dame University next year.
Ever since Talon Beichler started pushing a shot put, he has had a list of things he’s wanted to accomplish.
A two-time All-Ohioan in the event, the Orrville senior has already established himself as the school’s all-time leader with a handful of other goals set for the upcoming season.
Competing at the collegiate level, however, has been at the top of that list since he was in middle school — something he can check off after Beichler announced his commitment this past week to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
“It means so much to me to be able to continue track at the next level, especially at a program like Notre Dame,” he said. “Ever since my first full season of track during my eighth-grade year, it has been my dream to be able to continue this journey for at least four more years. Being able to compete at a program like Notre Dame is just icing on the cake for me.”
It didn’t take long for the South Bend school to rise to the top of Beichler’s list.
The standout thrower, who had been contacted by a host of other Division I schools including Air Force and Yale, quickly fell in love with the Fighting Irish after communication started between the two a little over three months ago.
And as the weeks went by, it became perfectly clear to him that Notre Dame was where he wanted to be.
“What stood out to me most is how often we have communicated and how quickly the recruiting process went throughout the past three months,” Beichler said of his frequent conversations with throws coach Cathrine Erickson. “This along with the history of great throwers throughout the past seasons were a huge part of my decision.”
Being elite is something the 6-foot-2, 315-pound Beichler has been over the past two prep seasons.
This past spring the Red Rider earned his second straight all-state honors in the shot with a sixth-place finish. For Beichler, who also just missed All-Ohio in the discus, the season was loaded with record-setting performances as he broke the school record in the shot en route to winning the Principals Athletic Conference title.
His mark of 58-11 broke a nearly decade-old record of 58-6 ¾ that was set back in 2015 by James Miller.
Beichler also was the PAC champ in the discus and had a personal-record toss of 166-11 earlier in the season.
It’s a long resume of success he hopes to add to this upcoming spring — and continue next year as a member of the Notre Dame program.
“What stood out to me most with the track program is how valued the throws program is within the team,” Beichler said. “For most of the other schools I had talked to, most only had a small handful of total roster spots, let alone available ones, but Notre Dame had enough room to bring on not only myself, but two other recruits.
“There is always a chance of making an immediate impact, but that depends on how well I adapt to the college weights.”
Along with competing for the track and field program, the 18-year-old also plans on majoring in finance — another big selling point of the school that is known for having one of the top finance schools in the country.
“There were a few other schools that I had been in communication with during the process, like Air Force and Yale, but none made the major impact through both academics and athletics like Notre Dame did,” he said. “While there may have been schools that offered a larger percentage scholarship, the education and athletic development at Notre Dame made the partial scholarship more than enough.”
Now with the college decision behind him, Beichler is excited to get back to work on his goals.
Along with closing out the football season with a playoff berth in site, the standout has an indoor and outdoor season to prepare for as he continues to work on his craft.
“Getting my commitment out of the way this early lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders,” Beichler said. “Being able to focus on finishing my football season and preparing for my senior track season is extremely important to me, so having the stress of a college decision out of the way leaves the rest of the path more clear.”