IRON WOOD THROWS CLASSIC: Happiness found in throws in Rathdrum ... Past Olympians, other top throwers put on a show at Bart's place

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

RATHDRUM — If happiness was something Deanna Price was seeking after a tough two years, she found it on Saturday afternoon.

In Rathdrum, of all places.

Price won the women’s hammer throw with a throw of 253 feet, 5 inches during the seventh Iron Wood Throws Classic at the Iron Wood Throws Center, following up a win at the event in Rathdrum in 2018 when she shattered the American record with a throw of 254-9.

Price, the gold medalist in the hammer at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, underwent surgery shortly after that win.

“It’s been a long two years,” Price said. “I had ankle reconstruction surgery in 2021 and a labrum repair. I really didn’t think I’d throw this far again, and it was something I never thought I’d be able to do again. It’s pretty amazing. I’ve been throwing really well lately, and coming out here, it’s been something I’ve been thinking about getting back to that form I had before I got hurt. I’m really happy with what I did here today.”

Price reached out to meet organizer T.J. Crater about competing this year.

“Iron Wood, it’s just an environment that makes you happy,” said Price, who competed at Southern Illinois, and is now a volunteer coach at the University of Illinois. “It’s something about the ring and the people you go against. You’re not just in it for yourself, but for this community. Because they develop kids here and for them to see what it takes to get to the next level, it means so much to me.”

The USA Track and Field Championships are July 6-9 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

“This is just a jumping off point,” Price said. “One thing I love about Iron Wood is that it feels like home and the energy they give is great. It’s just a good setup for the U.S. meet.”

For Brock Eager, it was like a home meet.

Eager, who trains at Iron Wood and lives in Spokane Valley, captured the men’s hammer championship with a throw of 251-3.

“I’ve been working on my entry and a lot of the technical stuff,” Eager said. “I’ve gone to my last couple of meets sore and wanted to test some things out before the U.S. meet, and everything felt really fresh today.”

So fresh, Eager set a new personal high in the event.

“My body was feeling good,” said Eager, a Renton, Wash., native who competed at Washington State. “It’s a home meet for me and I wanted to make my coaches proud. My family was here, my boss was here, so I figured I’d give them a show. It’s been two years since I’ve PR’ed, and right now my body is feeling good.”

While it wasn’t an official meet in 2020, Payton Otterdahl, who competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the shot put, fell in love with the surroundings in Rathdrum while competing here three years ago.

“I came here before in the height of COVID because there weren't a lot of opportunities for us to compete at that time,” Otterdahl said. “I really just fell in love with the area and facility.”

On Saturday, Otterdahl claimed the men’s shot put with a throw of 71-7 ½.

“This place, this facility is like a thrower’s dream,” Otterdahl said. “It’s a place that’s built by throwers for throwers. To come out in this environment with the people, and everyone that’s here was probably a thrower at some point, so they understand what it takes to be great and a great thrower.”

Otterdahl’s younger brother, Trevor, finished fifth in the men’s shot put.

“I’ve got two little brothers, one (Trevor) that’s training at North Dakota State — my alma mater — and another (Maxwell, a rising senior) that’s training at Nebraska, where I currently train,” Payton Otterdahl said. “Sometimes, I’ve got to show them I’m the big brother, even though I’m the smallest of all of them at 6-foot-4.”

Jessica Woodard, who finished third at Iron Wood in 2019 in the women’s shot put, won the shot on Saturday at 59-9 ½.

“I just came back from a trip to Europe, so this was kind of to rebuild my rhythm and get another good competition before the U.S. meet in a few weeks,” said Woodward, who competed at Oklahoma. “I just need to get the train rolling. It wasn’t my best day, but I’ll take it.”

Other winners were: Andrew Evans in the men’s discus (208-8), Ashley Anumba in the women’s discus (201-11), Capers Williamson (259-5) in the men’s javelin and Vanja Spaic in the women’s javelin (179-8).

All told, 49 people competed in the one-day event at the facility owned by throws guru Bart Templeman near Highway 53 and Ramsey Road.

Participants were awarded $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second, $700 for third and $500 for fourth place. This year was the first time the throws meet was included on the World Athletics Continental Tour, where participants earned series points for competing.

MEN’S HAMMER — 1, Brock Eager, 251 feet, 3 inches. 2, Adam Keenan, 247-1. 3, Rowan Hamilton, 246-4. 4, Denzel Comenentia, 246-3. 5, Daniel Haugh, 245-0. 6, Tanner Berg, 239-10. 7, Morgan Shigo, 238-8. 8, Isaiah Rogers, 224-1. 9, Trevor Ottendahl, 223-7.

WOMEN’S SHOT PUT — 1, Jessica Woodard, 59 feet, 9 ½ inches. 2, Rachel Fatherly, 56-9 ¼. 3, Monique Riddick, 55-9 ¾. 4, Divine Oladipo, 55-3 ¾.

MEN’S SHOT PUT — 1, Payton Otterdahl, 71 feet, 7 ½ inches. 2, Darrell Hill, 66-9 ¾. 3, Burger Lambrechts Jr. 66-0 ¼. 4, T’Mond Johnson, 65-1 ¼. 5, Trevor Ottendahl, 62-9 ¼.

WOMEN’S HAMMER — 1, Deanna Price, 253 feet, 5 inches. 2, Rachel Tanczos, 242-4. 3, Erin Reese, 237-9. 4, Nayoka Curtis, 233-4. 5, Sade Olatoye, 211-0. 6, Maddie Niles, 209-11. 7, Kaila Butler, 207-10.

MEN’S DISCUS — 1, Andrew Evans, 208 feet, 8 inches. 2, Brian Williams, 208-5. 3, Joseph Brown, 205-8. 4, Marcus Gustaveson, 203-8. 5, Jordan Roach, 200-4. 6, Darian Brown, 195-9. 7, Legend Hayes, 188-1.

WOMEN’S DISCUS — 1, Ashley Anumba, 201-11. 2, Elena Bruckner, 193-2. 3, Veronica Fraley, 190-9. 4, Micaela Hazlewood, 189-4. 5, Ashley Petr, 186-11. 6, Shelby Frank, 182-5. 7, Jordyn Bryant, 175-6. 8, Sarah Thornton, 173-7. 9, Kaia Harris, 171-1.

MEN’S JAVELIN — 1, Capers Williamson, 259-5. 2, Ethan Shalaway, 256-6. 3, Sam Hardin, 237-7. 4, Michael Shuey, 236-0. 5, Brett Thompson, 230-5.

WOMEN’S JAVELIN — 1, Vanja Spaic, 179-8. 2, Rebekah Wales, 172-7. 3, Laura Lindquist, 134-9.