“Hammer is something that most people don’t know about, but it is a wild event,” Kevin Adkisson, track and field head coach, said. “It is essentially a shot put on a 3-foot wire that the athletes accelerate by spinning and it is incredibly hard.” 

Though the hammer throw may be a difficult event, there are still chances to succeed. At the recent Wildcat Invitational, Andrew Harris threw the hammer a distance of 59.92-meters, 197 feet, 7 inches. Not only did this put him into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference spotlight, but the national competition spotlight as well. 

“I felt really good going into the meet,” senior thrower Andrew Harris said. 

The weather was perfect and being at home allows for some freedoms you don’t get when traveling to away meets, according to Harris. 

“Going into the throw I was mostly focused on staying relaxed so that my nerves wouldn’t get to me,” Harris said. 

According to Harris, if you get excited or nervous you end up tensing up and your technique falters. 

Harris’ relaxed focus was rewarded, because not only did he throw a new competition personal best, but his 59.92-meter throw surpassed the previous record set in 2015 by .76 meters.

 “I am proud of myself for hitting this throw, but I was kind of disappointed that it wasn’t past 60 meters,” Harris said. 

According to Harris, he hit a distance of 61 meters in warm-ups and he is confident in his ability to hit 60 meters in competition. 

Harris also threw a high 58-meters the following week and says that his practice throws are getting more consistent around the 59-meter range. 

“The throw at the Wildcat Invitational got my feet down and created a good basis for me,” Harris said. “Now the goal is to hit 60-meters and move onto an even higher level.”

As impressive as this throw is, the process leading up to this point has been a long and strenuous one, head throwers coach Wyatt Meyring said. 

“The first year I got here he was transitioning as a thrower,” Meyring said, “before becoming a thrower, he was a hurdler and decathlete.” 

According to Meyring, the early days were extremely rough. 

“The first two years learning to throw were hard and he didn’t have much backing,” Meyring said. “He came back this year and honed his skills. He has gained so much confidence and made so many strides in the past three years.”

Beyond showing his skills, this throw also lets Harris know that he can take on any competitor, according to Meyring.

 “He loves to win and has that competitive drive that makes him want to beat whoever he is competing against. This throw at the Wildcat Invitational gives him the confidence that he can go out and perform big in competitions,” Meyring said.

Performing big is what Harris will have to do if he wants to make it to the national competition, according to Adkisson. 

“The way nationals is set now he is in 18th place, so he is on track, but he needs to get to at least 17th place to go to nationals. If he wants to comfortably solidify his place, he will need to get to 13th place,” Adkisson said.  

Adkisson said he is confident that Harris will continue to improve and find his way into the national competition.

 “Now he has that confidence built up that he can hit big numbers. Everyone gets three preliminary throws, and the top athletes get three throws in the finals,” Adkisson said. “This performance gives him the reassurance that he will make it into the finals on his first attempt and focus the remaining five on improving further.”

According to Adkisson, the future is looking very bright for Harris because there has been a trend of record-breaking athletes on the track team going to nationals. 

“He hasn’t hit his desired marks yet, but it should happen in the coming weeks,” Meyring said. “He is a gamer. Even if he has a bad week of training, his performances in competitions will continue to improve.”