{"id":1072,"date":"2015-06-08T20:42:21","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T01:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?p=1072"},"modified":"2026-01-08T10:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T16:37:37","slug":"ncaa-predictions-part-2-the-hammer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?p=1072","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Predictions Part 2: The Hammer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Men&#8217;s Hammer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What a long, strange trip it has been for Connor McCullough.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/connor.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1073\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?attachment_id=1073\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/connor.jpg?fit=400%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"400,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"connor\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/connor.jpg?fit=400%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1073\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/connor-200x300.jpg?resize=370%2C555\" alt=\"connor\" width=\"370\" height=\"555\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/connor.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/connor.jpg?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Will this be the year when he finally brings home an NCAA title? Or will Michael Lihrman of Wisconsin (PB 75.29m)&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/lihrman.jpeg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1074\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?attachment_id=1074\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/lihrman.jpeg?fit=636%2C339&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"636,339\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Robert I Black&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS-1D Mark III&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1402608060&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Robert I Black Photography \\u00a9&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;420&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.001&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;2014 Arkansas Outdoor Track \\u0026amp; Field&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"2014 Arkansas Outdoor Track &amp;amp; Field\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/lihrman.jpeg?fit=474%2C253&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1074\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/lihrman-300x159.jpeg?resize=474%2C251\" alt=\"2014 Arkansas Outdoor Track &amp; Field\" width=\"474\" height=\"251\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;or Chukwuebuka Enekwechi of Purdue ( PB 72.77m)&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/chuck.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1075\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?attachment_id=1075\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/chuck.jpg?fit=274%2C184&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"274,184\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"chuck\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/chuck.jpg?fit=274%2C184&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1075\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/chuck.jpg?resize=474%2C317\" alt=\"chuck\" width=\"474\" height=\"317\" \/><\/a>\\<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;crush his dreams in Eugene?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And how about the defending NCAA champion, Kent State&#8217;s Matthias Tayala&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tayala.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1076\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?attachment_id=1076\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tayala.jpg?fit=1000%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1000,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"tayala\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tayala.jpg?fit=474%2C284&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1076\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tayala-300x180.jpg?resize=474%2C284\" alt=\"tayala\" width=\"474\" height=\"284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tayala.jpg?resize=300%2C180&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tayala.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tayala.jpg?w=948&amp;ssl=1 948w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;who went 71.20m at the Mid-American Championships on May 14?<\/p>\n<p>And the champion will be&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Trof is all for McCullough, and if you think a website named &#8220;Mcthrows&#8221; is going against an Irish guy&#8230;you have another think coming.<\/p>\n<p>Wild Card: Tayala. I know, I know. Lihrman is a giant who threw the weight 800 feet indoors this year, and Chuck could easily beat up several motorcycle gangs, but&#8230;Tayala won it on his final throw last year and that&#8230;matters.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Women&#8217;s Hammer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here is your defending champion, Julia Ratcliffe of Princeton by way of New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/julia-ratcliff-princeton.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1077\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?attachment_id=1077\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/julia-ratcliff-princeton.jpg?fit=480%2C360&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"480,360\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"julia-ratcliff-princeton\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/julia-ratcliff-princeton.jpg?fit=474%2C356&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1077\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/julia-ratcliff-princeton-300x225.jpg?resize=474%2C355\" alt=\"julia-ratcliff-princeton\" width=\"474\" height=\"355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/julia-ratcliff-princeton.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/julia-ratcliff-princeton.jpg?w=480&amp;ssl=1 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Her best is 68.53m this year.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This year&#8217;s collegiate best belongs to Brooke Pleger of Bowling Green&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pleger.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1078\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?attachment_id=1078\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pleger.jpg?fit=736%2C487&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"736,487\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"pleger\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pleger.jpg?fit=474%2C314&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1078\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pleger-300x198.jpg?resize=464%2C308\" alt=\"pleger\" width=\"464\" height=\"308\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pleger.jpg?resize=300%2C198&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pleger.jpg?w=736&amp;ssl=1 736w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 464px) 100vw, 464px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;who \u00a0hit 69.72m at the Mid-American Championships on May 14.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Southern Illinois senior Deanna Price nailed a 67.72m on May 2.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/price.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1079\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?attachment_id=1079\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/price.jpg?fit=120%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"120,200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"price\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/price.jpg?fit=120%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1079\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/price.jpg?resize=378%2C630\" alt=\"price\" width=\"378\" height=\"630\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And the champion will be&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Ratcliffe has two advantages: she is from New Zealand and was smart enough to get into Princeton. That&#8217;s enough for Trof, who picked her to repeat. I, however, am not one to go against the John Smith factor. He has been coaching since the 1870&#8217;s and if there is any trick in the book&#8230;well&#8230;he wrote the book. So, we are going with Price.<\/p>\n<p>Wild Card: Kearsten Peoples of Missouri. According to Trof, she has won about 8 million medals at NCAA meets in the past 4 years, so she is not likely to be intimidated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Men&#8217;s Hammer What a long, strange trip it has been for Connor McCullough. &nbsp; Will this be the year when he finally brings home an NCAA title? Or will Michael Lihrman of Wisconsin (PB 75.29m)&#8230; &nbsp; &#8230;or Chukwuebuka Enekwechi of Purdue ( PB 72.77m)&#8230; \\ &#8230;crush his dreams in Eugene? &nbsp; And &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?p=1072\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">NCAA Predictions Part 2: The Hammer<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hammer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8knIb-hi","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1072\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}