Game of Throwers

Soon after the sun came out Saturday at USA Olympic volunteer throws coach Bart Templeman's 10-acre throwing facility off of North Ramsey Road and Highway 53, near Garwood, shot putter Kurt Roberts took advantage of his time to shine.

After a gray and cloudy day blanketed the sky during much of the inaugural Iron Wood/Ben Plunknett Throws Meet, more than 100 spectators helped provide some extra energy for Roberts and the other 11 throwers, all among the top throwers in the United States.

The man who graduated from NCAA Division II Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, rewarded the fans' rhythmic clapping and cheers, setting his personal outdoor personal best throw of 70 feet, 3 inches to win the competition. He also pumped the crowd up, raising his hands up and down before some of his competitors' throws.

Winners in all three throwing events won $1,200. The runners-up won $600, third-place finishers received $400 and fourth-place throwers received $200. There were four competitors in each event - shot put, discus and hammer throw.

"The crowd was great," said Roberts, who finished fifth his first year out of college at the 2012 U.S. Olympic track and field trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. "I was expecting maybe a handful of people. This is unreal. I was not expecting a crowd like this, it was a very knowledgable crowd. Everyone knew what was a good throw and what wasn't. This is cool, I was not expecting this many people. They definitely loved it. This is a beautiful place."

Jordan Clarke, who won four straight NCAA championships in the shot while competing for Arizona State, also threw more than 70 feet, coming up just short of Roberts with a throw of 70 feet, 1 1/2 inches.

"It started to become really fun with Jordan and I," Roberts said. "Jordan has been battling it. He hurt his hand pretty bad (last year) his senior year. Everyone was glad to see him come out and it's nice to have another 70-foot American thrower in the same one (meet)."

Zack Lloyd, who finished third at last year's USA Outdoor Championships, finished third (67-7 1/2). Cory Martin, a former all-American at Auburn, was fourth (66-5).

In the discus, Russ Winger, a 29-year-old former University of Idaho thrower who finished second at nationals, won with a toss of 202 feet, 7 inches.

Winger, a native of Colorado Springs, is staying at the US Olympic Training Center there.

"It felt pretty good," Winger said. "I came off a pretty good week last week, I had a pretty good week of training. I've really been working on being more patient with the throw. Sometimes it's tough in a meet situation, but coming into USAs (nationals are June 26-29 in Sacramento, Calif.), it's good to have a good crowd and there was a little bit of energy. It's a really good tuneup and I really like what Bart and the throws group is doing with the Iron Wood stuff, it's very unique. I love it (the facilities). It's fun to be back in the Northwest ... competing for the University of Idaho was a great experience and it's really fun to be able to come back and see some of my old college teammates."

Lance Brooks, last year's national champion and a 2012 Olympian, finished second (202 feet). Mike Torie, who had the fifth-best discus throw last year, was third (194-11). James Plummer, third at last year's nationals, came in fourth (194-5).

In the hammer throw, Kibwe Johnson, an Olympian in 2008 and 2012 and who had the third best hammer throw in U.S. history (260 feet), was the winner. Johnson won with a throw of 245 feet, 7-1/4 inches, beating out Chris Cralle (241-8), who was second in last year's nationals and was runner-up in the 2012 Olympic trials.

Matt Post, who competed last season for Boise State, was third (199-11) and WAC champion and former University of Idaho thrower Kyle Rothwell (192-2) finshed fourth.

During his winning throw, Johnson let out a loud roar and pumped his arm. He appeared to be dissatisfied with some of his previous throws.

"I'm very happy with the result," Johnson said. "I wanted to throw between 74 and 75 (meters). I thought that's where I was with my training right now. How it felt though, I didn't like it at all. If I felt good, it would've been upwards of two meters more. I haven't felt good in a competition in a long time.

Johnson said he's feeling confident as he tries to qualify for the U.S. team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He will be 35 years old by the Olympics.

"I think we're back on track," Johnson said. "I've come to expect good, international-level results like in 2010 and 2011."

As for the facility itself, Templeman opened it two years ago and it includes a 50-x-120 foot building, where Templeman plans to expand with five or six more throwing pads in an adjacent area to the current set of pits. There is also a smaller building that includes living facilities, and he plans on expanding even further next year with an area for javelin throwers.

"We throw shot and discus indoors," Templeman said of competitors throwing at a 20-foot tall net. "If you put a discus or a shot in somebody's hand, it becomes 'How far I throw' and that is not an issue. It's how you throw. This works out really well for us, because the springs in Idaho are not the best. So that's why we do this. I open it in the first of March. The high school throwers come out and I work with about 25 kids. I knew we had to do something with spring practice, so we can be inside and throw and teach the kids technique."

Jarred Rome, a two-time Olympian who retired last year and coaches throws at Concordia College in Portland, helped deliver much of the meet's talent.

"USA Track and Field has three or four meets that they fund per year for athletes in all events," Rome said. "I knew the people to get a hold of and I thought, what a good idea to try to get this meet funded at this great facility. It was an opportunity to get this venue as a development meet."

And develop the coaches did, in a nice green patch of land in North Idaho.