ABOVE: Fairmont's Oliver Tordsen works on his form and technique in the days leading up the Sentinel Relay's.

FAIRMONT – Senior thrower Oliver Tordsen is ready for his third appearance at the Sentinel Relays before heading off to college. Tordsen appreciated the four days of practice leading up to the meet, which gave him time to focus on training for the meet.

“We haven’t had a lot of practices over the last couple weeks,” said Tordsen. “We’ve had a lot of meets, so I think having these four days before it of no meets and just hard practices will really help people do better at the meet.”

Tordsen has been dominant so far this season and has not fallen below third place in the discus in the meets held, with a personal and school record with a throw of 170 feet, 10 inches eclipsing the prior record holder his brother, Sawyer, who set the record in 2023 with a throw of 165 feet, 3 inches. Though he has taken the school record, Tordsen also wants to take the Sentinel Relay record held by Sawyer. Oliver locked in the victory in the boys discus at the 2024 relays (146-6) on his way to a state appearance where he placed ninth, throwing 153 feet, 3 inches, a distance he has long since passed.

In the 2023 season, Sawyer helped set the bar for Oliver with a state appearance. He placed sixth in the discus with a throw of 164 feet, 2 inches, before moving on to play football at Augustana.

“I mean, we’re siblings, I want to beat them, they want to beat me, but I think that however it ends, we’ll be happy for each other,” said Tordsen. “I’m hoping to take the record from Sawyer on Friday.”

The last name Tordsen has become synonymous with track and field success. Conner Tordsen, the oldest of the clan, holds six top-10 performances at Dakota State University in hammer, discus, and shot put, all within reach for Oliver, who will attend the school next fall.

Oliver is putting up solid numbers this season, bringing home six first-place finishes and three silver medals thus far all while breaking records as the Sentinel Relays approach.

Standing at 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds, Tordsen has the strength and power to really launch the discus down range. He is focusing on this meet just like any other, focusing on his training like he does between every meet, and remaining confident.

“I know St. Peter’s really good. They have a really good thrower who’s going D1. So he’s my biggest competition,” said Tordsen. “For the running events. I haven’t really seen the competition too much. I’m not worried.”

The Dakota State University commit has already left his mark in the world of Fairmont athletics and continues to add to his resume as the season progresses. However, there is still work to do before he moves on in August, where he will try to continue his throwing dominance at the college level.

“I think our team has really grown over the past year, both girls and boys. I think we can definitely take the lead in it and win it, so it’s pretty exciting,” he said.