James Begley approached his coach, one of the few men he can have an eye-level conversation with, and made a simple statement Sunday afternoon.

"I have the last throw," the Colorado senior said.

His coach, Casey Malone, already knew that. As a 2004 Olympian, Malone kind of knows by now how a track meet runs. But the statement wasn't meant to inform. It was meant to reassure.

Begley had the best discus throw in the prelims at Sunday's Big 12 Track and Field Championships, earning him the last throw in the finals. But both the CU pupil and teacher knew someone would best Begley's prelims mark, forcing him to win on the final throw of the meet.

He did just that when he unleashed a toss of 173 feet, one inch through a beautiful Boulder sky to earn the fifth-year senior his first conference title.

"I couldn't have asked for a better ending to my career, to win on my last throw in front of my hometown fans," said Begley, who clapped to the CU fans after his win. "I had all my friends here, my parents, my high school coach. It was just a great way to end my career here."

It wasn't a bad way to cap a weekend, either. He finished ninth in the hammer throw Friday with a personal best of 189-04 and fifth in the shot put Saturday with a personal best of 56-4½. He scored 14 points for the Buffs as the team earned its first conference title win since 1947.

Begley's win was an unexpected boost for the Buffs. The 6-5 big man had the third-best throw in the conference coming into the meet, but he managed to have the best day of any thrower when it counted.

"As an athlete, I can understand how hard it is to have your best day on the most important day," said the 6-8 Malone, who won a national title at Colorado State in 1998. "If I wrote screenplays, this is how I would write it -- winning on the last throw of his career at Potts Field."

After spending the last five years tossing heavy objects, Begley is heading into a more delicate field. He has a job in the E.&J. Gallo Winery's management training program.

He distinguished himself at CU as a leader by heading the Student Athlete Advisory Council while putting together several charity events such as Buffalo Hugs, the Angel Tree and Read With the Buffs. Now he'll take those skills -- and a Big 12 gold medal -- into the next stage of his life.

"I wanted to have a special senior year," he said. "So far, it's going pretty well."