Pavlovich part of Big Ten champion Gophers

By JASON JUNO

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MINNEAPOLIS — Ella Pavlovich, whose grandparents are all from the Gogebic Range, was a member of the University of Minnesota’s Big Ten champion women’s track-and-field team during the spring.

She finished 21st in the hammer at that meet with a mark of 173 feet, 6 inches.

“It was an awesome experience because I don’t think it was expected,” Pavlovich said of the Big Ten championship.

Her personal best throw of 176-0 was good for a win at the Janis Rider-Doug Bolstorff Invite. She finished runner-up at both the Bethel Invite and the Hamline Invite.

Pavlovich also made the Academic All-Big Ten team in the outdoor portion of her redshirt freshman season where she competed in eight meets. She also had top-15 finishes in the discus at a pair of events.

“It’s just been a really awesome experience,” Pavlovich said. “I was just voted one of the team captains. I think that’s pretty cool. I’m just a walk-on. It’s been an awesome experience to grow, grow with this team. It’s been a really fun experience. I wasn’t planning on throwing in college and it happened on a whim. It’s been definitely one of the better experiences of my life. I’ve been grateful for it, it’s just been awesome.”

The D.C. Everest graduate finished runner-up in the discus at the WIAA state meet her senior season. Her first time with the hammer was her first practice at Minnesota.

“It slowly became my favorite thing,” she said. “It’s definitely something that you watch and think, ‘Oh my gosh, how do people do that?’ So learning how to do it has been really cool.”

It’ll be interesting to see how the conference looks with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten, she said.

“I’m not sure how we fit in quite yet,” she said.

Her grandparents are all local — Stephen and Marylou Pavlovich and James and Jeannie Milakovich.