University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Track & Field
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach - Throws
- Email:
- mill1992@umn.edu
The 2023-24 season marks Peter Miller's 11th season with the Golden Gophers after joining the University of Minnesota staff in summer 2013. Miller, a former Gopher student-athlete, spent his first five seasons serving as an assistant coach for women's throws and high jump, while assisting with the women's combined-events training. In 2018-19, Miller began coaching both the men's and women's throws along with serving as recruiting coordinator for men's track & field. In 2021 Miller was elevated to the Associate Head Coach role at the 'U' and still coaches the throws group.
In total Miller's throwers rank among the top in program history as he has coached 11 of the current school records held at the University of Minnesota (excluding indoor men's track and field). Those include: Parsons - Javelin 72.15m, Zaltos - Hammer Throw 76.33m, Wieland - Decathlon 8,201 pts, Sabin - Shot Put 17.47m, Long - Weight Throw 24.37m, Lehman - Pentathlon 4393 pts, Nabwe - Shot Put 17.59m, Frank - Discus 61.55m, Frank - Hammer Throw 69.07m, Herauf - Heptathlon 6014 pts.
In total (men and women), 78 of the 130 Minnesota top 10 throws and multis all-time have been coached by Miller and the Gophers staff since he joined in the summer of 2013. The Gophers, under Miller's coaching, have six different student-athletes inside the collegiate all-time top 25. Those athletes include Kaitlyn Long's No. 7 all-time weight throw in 2018 (24.37m), Shelby Frank's No. 9 all-time weight throw in 2023 (24.14m), Kostas Zaltos' No. 13 all-time hammer throw in 2023 (76.33m), Luca Wieland's heptathlon and decathlon performances that rank No. 18 (6,089 pts) and No. 24 (8,201 pts) all-time, respectively, and lastly Anthonett Nabwe's No. 20 all-time weight throw in 2024 (23.36m).
The 2023-24 campaign continued the trend of Minnesota's women's throws dominating with Shelby Frank once again capturing an NCAA runner-up finish in the weight throw, this time in Boston, Mass. Along with coaching redshirt freshman Annie Nabwe to an All-America finish in the weight throw, Miller was named the Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year once again, the sixth time Miller earned the distinction from the USTFCCCA. He aided Anthonett Nabwe to one of the greatest redshirt freshman seasons in NCAA history, helping the Liberia national to earn the indoor Big Ten Freshman of the Year honor for her performances in the weight throw. She set an NCAA freshman record in the weight throw in her victory at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio. Nabwe's winning throw of 23.36m (76-7 3/4) made her the first freshman to win the Big Ten weight throw title since Dani Bunch (Purdue) in 2011. Just a few weeks later Nabwe made her debut at the NCAA Indoor Championships where she finished as a Second Team All-American with a throw of 20.08m (65-10 1/2). Outdoors the women's group evolved and thrived with Frank reaching the NCAA podium in two events, making Frank the second thrower in program history to earn five First Team All-America honors, joining Rachel Lewis (five-time All-American, 1989-1991). Additionally Frank went on to finish fifth at the US Olympic Trials in the discus and seventh in the hammer throw, becoming the only US woman to qualify for the final in both events at Hayward Field.
The men's throwers in 2023-24 were also stellar under Miller's tutelage with the men's hammer throw once again being the cornerstone of the program. True freshman Angelos Mantzouranis was a breakout star for the Maroon and Gold, earning the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year honor after setting the conference's meet record in the hammer throw. Mantzouranis went on to finish with the bronze medal at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and was sixth at the Greek Senior Championships ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games. Mantzouranis was the top freshman in the country in the hammer throw, marking the fourth year in a row the Gophers captured a men's hammer throw NCAA medal. Between Shelby Frank and Mantzouranis, the Gophers became the first program to sweep the hammer throw at the NCAA West Regional with Mantzouranis throwing his 72.57m throw after midnight local time in Fayetteville, Ark., after a weather delay.
Minnesota's throws cemented itself as one of the overall premier throws programs in the Big Ten and the NCAA during the 2022-23 season under Miller. Miller earned the Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year honor during both the indoor campaign (women's) and the outdoor season (men's). Kostas Zaltos won his third-straight Big Ten title with a championship record hammer throw mark of 74.93m (245-10) and snagged his third NCAA medal in Austin, Texas, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In one of the greatest NCAA hammer throw competitions in history Zaltos launched a final mark of 76.33m (250-5). Zaltos' mark not only broke his own school record he set earlier in the season but it went down as the Big Ten record in the event, passing Michael Lihrman of Wisconsin (75.29m | 247-0). Zaltos' is now the No. 13 performer in NCAA history in the event. Along with Zaltos' national runner-up finish the Gophers also earned big-time points in the men's hammer throw with Jake Kubiatowicz finishing sixth in the nation in his first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The St. Paul, Minn., native launched three lifetime bests during the event to finish sixth with his final mark of 72.40m (237-6). Minnesota had two national runner-up finishes during the 2022-23 season with Miller aiding USTFCCCA Midwest Field Athlete of the Year Shelby Frank to a NCAA silver medal in the weight throw. Frank's mark of 23.42m (76-10) came on her fifth throw of her series and propelled the Grand Forks, N.D., native from seventh to second. Frank's finish is the second-best in the event in program history, just behind Kaitlyn Long's NCAA championship in the event in 2018. Between the indoor and outdoor season the Gophers set two school records during the season (men's javelin, men's hammer) and scored 19 points between the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships. Led by three men's hammer throw scorers, the Maroon and Gold men's team finished second at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, their highest team finish in a decade. For the second straight season, the Gophers hammer throw Event Squad was tabbed as the best in the NCAA by the USTFCCCA, with the group's average throw of 69.19m going down as the best in NCAA history.
During the 2021-22 campaign the throws group was once again a dominant force for the Maroon and Gold under Miller. The group accumulated 40 Big Ten points at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships as well as 13 NCAA points for the Golden Gophers. Kostas Zaltos won his second straight Big Ten title in the men's hammer and went on to earn his second consecutive NCAA bronze medal in the event just weeks later in Eugene, Ore. At those NCAA Championships in Eugene, the Gophers had three First Team All-America finishes, led by Zaltos, with Kaleb Siekmeier earning a fifth-place finish in the men's discus and Shelby Frank improving from 16th in 2021 to sixth in 2022 in the women's discus. Tess Keyzers was also a NCAA qualifier in the women's hammer, finishing 21st overall. Under Miller the Gophers men also capped off the 2022 season as the No. 1 ranked hammer throw Event Squad according to the USTFCCCA. The group had an average season-best mark of 65.58m (215-2), over two meters ahead of the second-best team in the NCAA (Long Beach State). On the women's side Minnesota had the No. 10 ranked hammer throw group in the NCAA with an average throw of 56.76m (186-3).
The 2020-21 season saw continued success for the Maroon and Gold throwers under Miller. Between the indoor and outdoor campaign the Gophers sent eight men and women's throwers to the NCAA Championships. That campaign was highlighted by then-freshman Kostas Zaltos' bronze-medal NCAA finish in the men's hammer throw. Under Miller, Zaltos also brought home his first Big Ten title in the men's hammer throw while Kaleb Siekmeier finished as the Big Ten runner-up in both the indoor weight throw and the outdoor men's discus. The final Big Ten medal of the 2020-21 season with Phillipe Barnett, who earned a bronze medal in the indoor men's weight throw. During the 2020-21 season then-freshman Shelby Frank also emerged as the next great Gopher thrower next to Zaltos. Frank qualified in the women's discus and went on to earn a Second Team All-America finish in the women's discus (16th, 54.22m).
Miller’s throwers found success during an abbreviated 2019-20 season before the indoor season ended and the outdoor season was canceled when the Big Ten Conference and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions and championships because of COVID-19 public health concerns. Named the 2020 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year, Miller coached the nation’s top men’s weight throw foursome in 2020 as Kieran McKeag, Kaleb Siekmeier, Jon Nerdal, and Connor Rousemiller averaged 21.86 meters (71-09 ft.). Meanwhile, Miller’s Gopher women landed second in the nation in shot put (16.40m, 53-09.75 ft. average) and fourth in the nation in weight throw (20.07m, 65-10.25 ft. average) for the 2020 indoor season.
Miller’s throwers earned seven entries into the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships, the most NCAA indoor throws qualifiers from one school since 2005. All seven were named All-Americans: Nayoka Clunis (weight throw, shot put), Devia Brown (shot put), McKeag (weight throw), Nerdal (weight throw), Siekmeier (weight throw), and Jonathan Tharaldsen (shot put). The year before, Miller’s athletes made six NCAA Championships appearances led by Temi Ogunrinde (fifth in hammer throw) on the women’s side and McKeag (12th in weight throw; 14th in hammer throw) on the men’s side. In his first five seasons coaching the Gopher women, Miller coached 16 Gophers to 47 NCAA West Prelim qualifications and had 12 student-athletes make 19 appearances at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as well.
The Gopher throwers continued rewriting Minnesota’s all-time top-10 list in the 2019-20 season, posting six all-time top-10 marks on the men’s side and adding four more on the women’s side for the indoor season alone. The 2018-19 season saw Miller’s throwers set program records in women's indoor shot put, women's outdoor shot put, and women's hammer throw. On the men’s side, the 2019 Gopher throwers recorded six all-time top-10 marks in their first season under Miller’s direction as well.
At the Big Ten Conference level, the Gophers have found considerable success under Miller. Minnesota’s combined men’s and women’s throws group has led the B1G in points at each of the last three conference meets (37 at the 2020 indoor championships, 44 at the 2019 outdoor championships, and 26 at the 2019 indoor championships). In 2020, Nayoka Clunis and Kieran McKeag led the Gophers with B1G runner-up showings in women's and men's weight throw, respectively, and in 2019 Temi Ogunrinde made Big Ten Conference history by becoming the first woman to win three-straight hammer throw titles. The Gopher men received two top-three finishes from Jonathan Tharaldsen in shot put (third indoor and second outdoor) in 2019 as well.
The First Five Years
In Miller’s first five seasons, he coached the Gopher women’s throwers to 14 All-American awards and five Big Ten titles along with six Big Ten runner-up finishes. In addition, Miller helped Gophers multi-event athlete Jess Lehman (Herauf) to four All-American honors: pentathlon (Second Team, 2014; First Team, 2015) and heptathlon (First Team, 2015; First Team 2016) as well as six All-Big Ten awards in the multi-events and three scoring finishes in the B1G javelin competition.
Under Miller’s direction in 2014, Devin Stanford became Minnesota's first hammer thrower to qualify for the national meet since Liz Alabi competed in 2007. Placing 15th in the hammer with a then career-best throw, Stanford then became the first Gopher thrower to place at the national meet since Nikki Tzanakis finished 14th in the discus in 2011. In 2015, Nicolle Murphy was the first Gopher thrower to earn first team All-America honors since 2008, and she recorded her second-straight first team award in 2016. Miller’s throwers secured eight All-America awards in the 2018 indoor and outdoor seasons, highlighted by Kaitlyn Long’s NCAA title in the weight throw. Long became Minnesota’s second-ever individual national champion by claiming the national crown in the weight throw under Miller’s direction.
Miller’s student-athletes combined to score 38 points en route to Minnesota’s 2016 B1G outdoor title, including Big Ten champions Jess Lehman (heptathlon) and Nicolle Murphy (javelin). The previous year, Miller’s throwers scored 47 points at the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Championship, including four top-three finishes. Miller’s athletes contributed significantly to Minnesota’s indoor and outdoor Big Ten team titles in 2018 as the Maroon & Gold swept the B1G track & field championships for the first time in program history as well. Kaitlyn Long (weight throw), Temi Ogunrinde (hammer throw), and Nicolle Murphy (javelin) won individual Big Ten titles to lead the Gophers, and Miller’s athletes scored 54 of 134 team points at the 2018 B1G Outdoor Championship.
Under Miller, the Gopher throwers have had success beyond the NCAA stage as well. Nicolle Murphy finished fifth in javelin at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, and Kiley Sabin was named a USATF All-American after placing seventh in the shot put and 11th in the discus at the 2015 USATF Outdoor Junior Championships. In addition, Murphy placed 14th and 17th in the javelin at the 2014 and 2015 USATF Senior Championships, and Esser has competed on the international stage for her native Canada at multiple events, including qualifying for finals at the 2015 World University Games. Nayoka Clunis won the hammer throw national title at the 2018 Jamaican Senior National Championships and went on to represent her native Jamaica at the inaugural Athletics World Cup while Ogunrinde holds the Nigerian national record in hammer throw, competed for Nigeria at the 2018 African Athletics Championships, and represented Africa at the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup.
Before Minnesota
Miller returned to his alma mater for the 2013-14 season after two successful seasons as the throws coach for the University of North Dakota men's and women's track & field teams. In 2012, Miller's throwers broke eight school records and won three Great West Conference individual titles. During the 2013 season, UND's throwers were responsible for seven more school records, four NCAA qualifiers, four USA Junior National qualifiers, one USATF Junior All-American, one All-Academic award winner and 35 UND top-10 performances.
Prior to his arrival at UND, Miller coached throws and combined events at Wisconsin-River Falls for three years. He mentored NCAA Division III meet qualifiers, including a third-place finisher, throughout his tenure. One of Miller's student-athletes qualified for the 2011 NCAA Division III outdoor championships in both the high jump and shot put, the only female in any division to compete in that combination of events at the national meet.
During two seasons coordinating the Falcons' strength and conditioning program, Miller's student-athletes broke 27 school records and earned 13 All-America awards. He was also heavily involved in track and field winter camps as both a director and instructor.
As a Golden Gopher
Miller captained the Gopher track & field team as a senior. He earned three letters and three Academic All-Big Ten selections, along with five University of Minnesota Scholar Student-Athlete awards. Miller earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology in 2008 and is pursuing a master's in business administration.
Miller has gained multiple coaching certifications through USA Track & Field, the USTFCCCA and the IAAF. He has completed all requirements to reach the highest levels of certification through both the IAAF (Level 5 Throws), which he received with distinction, and USATF (Level 3 Throws). In addition, Miller has received his USATF Level 2 certification in jumping events. In 2016, Miller became certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the USTFCCCA.
