“As soon as I saw one throw, my jaw dropped.”
Those are the words of Wyoming’s 26-year tenured throwing coach Paul Barrett when he first saw Daniel Reynolds take to the throwing ring. Reynolds, who was a raw, but clearly gifted talent from Chadron State at the time, caught the eye of Wyoming’s grizzly-eyed veteran coach the instance he set foot in the ring and began to tune up for his throw.
“In his first warm-up, I could just see crazy power, size and speed,” Barrett said of the first time he witnessed Reynolds’ talent. “His technique was a little rough, but physically, he was the kind of guy I look for.”
It wasn’t long after recruiting Reynolds to Wyoming that Barrett was able to indoctrinate Reynolds into his system, taking him under his wing and working to perfect his technique. Before he knew it, Barrett slowly began to watch Reynolds blossom into possibly one of the greatest athletes he’s ever had the opportunity to coach in his 26 years with the program. Barrett knew he had something special in Reynolds, and that the opportunities for him were boundless as long as he continued to work for it.
Within just his first season donning the Brown and Gold, Reynolds was able to capture a Mountain West championship in the indoor weight throw in 2024. That, however, was just a glimpse into what Reynolds was ultimately capable of achieving.
2025 is when Reynolds really rounded into form and showcased just how dominant he can be. Reynolds dominated the regular season calendar, going undefeated through the recent indoor season. Naturally, he was able to once again notch a Mountain West championship, culminating his season in a national championship throw.
Reynolds’ national championship was just as dominant as his entire season, as well. While he didn’t know it at the time, his first weight throw was already further than any other throw by his competitors. However, it was a later throw of 82’ 3 ½” that really solidified things for Reynolds, as that throw undoubtedly captured the NCAA Indoor Championship meet record and earned Reynolds first team all-American honors.
That all didn’t come easy, though.
“We got really, really strong through Christmas break,” Reynolds said of his training with Barrett ahead of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. “Just having that time to just eat and focus on training and take a break from school, really accelerated this season.”
Rigorous and intensive training, long nights, heavy weights and immeasurable focus was required for Reynolds to reach his peak performance–and all of it proved to be worth it when the smoke cleared on a national championship for Reynolds.
This dream season almost never had the chance to come to fruition, however. Reynolds’ senior track and field season at Granby High School in Granby, Colorado was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Without an ability to showcase his talent in his final year of high school, Reynolds unfortunately found himself well off the radar of many collegiate teams when it came to his talents in the ring. Instead, Reynolds found himself thinking of possibly competing on the gridiron at the next level. It was Chadron State–a small college in Chadron, Nebraska competing at the D-II level–that eventually decided to take a chance on Reynolds in the ring.
“I was pretty small coming out of high school, I didn’t get my senior year of track so my marks weren’t very good,” Reynolds said.
“I remember talking to my coach who initially signed me at Chadron and they were debating on giving me a scholarship or not, and they ended up giving me a little bit and taking a chance on me,” he said.
Reynolds divies a lot of credit to the staff at Chadron State that reluctantly decided to pull the trigger on him, as it was all he needed to propel his career into becoming a D-I NCAA national champion here at Wyoming. If not, there’s no telling where he would have ended up or what he would be doing right now.
It wasn’t long before Reynolds fell in love with the ring and being able to throw at one of the highest levels. After that, the rest is history.
“I’m incredibly grateful for that,” Reynolds said of his time at Chadron State. “I had no idea at the time how far I was going to go with it.”
“I didn’t know what a hammer or weight was until I got to college, and then I just really loved those events,” he added.
While Reynolds remains grateful for this time at Chadron State, his legacy has all but been cemented at Wyoming, where he has become only one of few athletes from Wyoming to become a track and field national champion and the first since 2005.
But for him, it isn’t just about the records that he’s set or the championship he’s won. Instead, Reynolds hopes that his teammates and any future Cowboys and Cowgirls can see the work he put in and realize that anything is possible, as long as they stay dedicated and put in the work.
“The guy is just the most dedicated, hard working athlete I’ve ever been around,” Barrett said in praise of Reynolds.
“He’s got a 4.0 [GPA], an undergrad degree and grad degree he’s finishing up. So, that just tells you his work ethic is pretty much off the charts. It doesn’t matter what it is, he’s going to do it to the maximum level.”
