Estes began coaching Bryan in his sophomore year of high school and was immediately impressed by his speed and quickness. It was clear he had the potential to be great at throwing the discus, which is his primary event, but questions about his strength lingered for the shot put. With Bryan's dedication and intense competitiveness, those questions were quickly put to rest.

"I never thought that he had the strength to throw the shot," Estes said. "But he was so quick, and his strength did come along."

This was one of the many ways Bryan showed his versatility and dedication to the team and the sport during high school. At WHS and even at Cowley occasionally, he ran some relays when he was needed. Both Estes and Daniel also said Bryan showed a passion for teaching underclassmen how to throw.

His competitiveness and love for the sport were further illustrated when he broke the Winfield shot put record at regionals in 2005 with a throw of over 55 feet but still lost to a throw of 63 feet and seven inches.

"Bryan was spitting fire," Estes said. "That kid got that 63-foot throw; he wanted to throw 64."

Talking with Bryan, it's almost difficult to imagine the competitiveness and drive that his parents and Estes say have helped him achieve so much success. Bryan doesn't talk much about his accomplishments, and Estes said he can come across as "maybe even lackadaisical" when he's not throwing.

When asked how many schools recruited him out of high school, Bryan casually lists three or four Division I schools, along with Cowley. Daniel Tapia said Bryan got 24 offers from D-I schools and about 31 offers altogether. Hetzendorf said Wichita State had an interest in Bryan but didn't have any scholarships available.

Although Louisiana-Monroe got Bryan's attention, his mother, Robyn Tapia, said Cowley was an easy decision, with proximity being a deciding factor. In his two years at Cowley, Bryan continued to show improvements in his throwing events and adjusted well to the 2.0 kg discus, which is 0.4 kg heavier than the discus used in high school.

By the end of his sophomore year at Cowley, the former Viking had established himself as an elite thrower. Daniel said he really began to get noticed by Division I schools when he went to the Texas Christian University Invitational and finished eighth in the discus as the only non-Division I athlete in the field. Then at nationals in Coffeyville, he finished third with a throw of 162 feet, two inches. In typical fashion, Bryan didn't think too much about the significance of his accomplishment.

"I just kind of felt it was like another track meet," he said. "It didn't really kind of hit until afterwards or the day of the meet."

The decision to go to Wichita State was a fairly easy one, with proximity and coaching again having large influences on his decision. Wichita State has a number of coaches, so Hetzendorf is able to give Bryan and the other throwers a lot of one-on-one instruction.

"(Bryan) and the coach get along great," Robyn said. "They kid around, but then the seriousness of it. I think it's been really good for him."

Bryan has the athletic ability and height to be an excellent discus thrower, Hetzendorf said; and he sees plenty of room for improvement. The two are working to eliminate some bad habits in Bryan's form. The coach said he may redshirt for the outdoor season.

"To make technical changes, it can be challenging," Hetzendorf said. "He's done a good job of trying to get rid of some of those bad habits."

Regardless of how well he does, Bryan is guaranteed to get a unique experience as a Division I thrower. He said the team will be going further than he did at Cowley, with a meet at Colorado Springs on Friday and Washington and Oregon as destinations for outdoor meets. Daniel said he and Robyn are trying to plan a vacation to Hawaii around one of Bryan's meets in 2009.

It's obvious Bryan enjoys throwing the discus, and he's dedicated enough to the sport that he may keep working at it after school, if his job allows it.

The final plateau for Bryan would be to get an opportunity to qualify for the Olympics.

Getting there won't be easy. Although Daniel said Bryan has increased his weight from 190 to 215 pounds since he went to WSU. Hetzendorf and Estes both said that he'll need to gain more weight if he wants to be a world class thrower. Hetzendorf, who graduated from Kent State University in 2000 and still competes in national meets throwing the javelin, knows the difficulty of Bryan's ultimate challenge.

"I can say, just from my own experience, it takes time," Hetzendorf said. "Once college gets over, real life kind of takes over and it can be really tough to keep throwing."