{"id":3588,"date":"2023-04-07T08:27:11","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T13:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?p=3588"},"modified":"2023-04-07T08:27:46","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T13:27:46","slug":"big-throws-at-the-2023-texas-relays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?p=3588","title":{"rendered":"Big throws at the 2023 Texas Relays!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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As another weekend of NCAA competition heats up, here’s a quick look back at last week’s Texas Relays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hammer time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pat Ebel\u2019s Auburn throws squad had a great weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maddie Malone<\/a> got the Tigers rolling on Thursday with a win in the women\u2019s hammer<\/a>. Her best of 68.45m topped Canadian Kaila Butler<\/a> of the Kamloops Track and Field Club, whose top effort of 67.75m came on her final attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ebel says that Maddie\u2019s training is going \u201creally well. She competed in the weight at indoor nationals<\/a> in early March, so we held her out of a couple of outdoor meets earlier this season just so she could get her rhythm back in the hammer. But she’s starting to find her feel.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malone opened her outdoor campaign with a toss of 68.79m at the FSU Relays on March 23. She set her PB of 69.66m in April of 2022, a mark that Ebel believes she will soon surpass. \u201cWe have been training hard in the weight room,\u201d he explained. \u201dAnd we are also working on a couple of technical points, but I can see her going seventy meters soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The women\u2019s hammer comp was contested in a steady rain, which Ebel says did not hinder Maddie\u2019s performance. \u201cShe\u2019s thrown in that weather before. And I always tell my throwers, that as long as you are technically sound coming out of the back on your entry, rain shouldn\u2019t bother you at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maddie\u2019s 68.79m has her ranked second in the NCAA<\/a> at this point, and when she returns to Austin for the NCAA Championships in June, she will try to improve on her eighth-place finish from 2022<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That will be it for her college eligibility, but she plans to stick around Auburn to train with Ebel while pursuing a pro career, a bold choice considering the current American dominance in the event.  Brooke Andersen<\/a> and Janee’ Kassanavoid<\/a> are currently ranked first and second in the world<\/a>, with Annette Echikunwoke<\/a> eleventh and Alyssa Wilson<\/a> twentieth\u2013and that list does not include Maggie Ewen<\/a> (75.04m PB), who has focused on the shot put of late but plans to contest the hammer seriously again starting this season. And don’t forget about DeAnna Price<\/a>, the 2019 World Champion who demonstrated she is once again in top form by breaking the World Record in the weight<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Ebel looks forward to the challenge. \u201cI\u2019ve got a couple of post-collegiate javelin throwers training here as well,\u201d he explained. \u201cSo it will be a nice environment for Maggie. And she\u2019s got a lot left in the tank!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The men\u2019s hammer comp in Austin was won by Ethan Katzburg<\/a>, teammate of Kaila Butler on the Kamloops squad. Ethan broke the meet record with a 77.12m bomb, and according to UCLA throws coach Sean Denard, \u201chasn\u2019t even touched his potential.\u201d Interestingly, Katzburg and the other Canadian hammer throwers are coached by Dylan Armstrong<\/a>, a World and Olympic medalist in the shot who Denard says was a fine hammer thrower himself in his youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ebel was proud of the performance turned in by his son, Erik<\/a>, who wound up eleventh in a field loaded with post-collegiates. Besides Katzburg, the men\u2019s hammer comp featured Diego Del Real<\/a>, the fourth-place finisher at the 2016 Olympics, Erich Sullins<\/a> (72.10m PB), Jose Padilla<\/a> (73.36m PB), and Kieran McKeag<\/a> (71.50m PB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erik\u2019s teammates  Kyle Brown<\/a> and Kyle Moison<\/a> finished twelfth and fifteenth respectively,  and the elder Ebel believes all of his guys can get over seventy meters this year, in part because of the way they “push each other in practice.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is it like for Pat Ebel to coach his son?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun! We get to travel together, and he keeps me on my toes. When he was throwing in high school, I\u2019d usually see him in only one or two meets a month, so we\u2019re making up for some lost time now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soak it all in<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A compelling reason to make the trip to meets like the Texas Relays is that it gives college throwers a chance to be around some of the world\u2019s best. The women\u2019s disc, for example, featured Olympic champion Valarie Allman<\/a>, who won with a meet record of 67.90m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ebel\u2019s thrower Maura Huwalt<\/a> threw 54.24m, which did not get her into the top nine, but Ebel encouraged her to stick around for the entire comp to observe Val. \u201cI told Maura to just sit and watch and notice Val\u2019s habits, her ability to focus and refocus. Learn from her, then use it when it\u2019s your turn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ebel believes Maura\u2019s turn will come soon enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is nearly six feet tall, with \u201clong arms\u201d and a serious competitive streak. \u201cMaura has taken full advantage of her time here at Auburn,\u201d he says. \u201cShe\u2019s one of those athletes where I have to tell her, \u201cThat\u2019s enough for today. It\u2019s time to go home!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though there were no Olympic champions in the men\u2019s discus, the field was fierce. ASU\u2019s Turner Washington<\/a>, the 2021 NCAA shot and disc champ won with a best of 64.01m. Behind him were BYU\u2019s Dallin Shurts<\/a> (second in the 2022 USATF Championships), LSU’s Claudio Romero<\/a> (last year’s NCAA champ), Northwestern State\u2019s Djimon Gumbs<\/a> (who threw a PB of 61.21m in Austin), then Sam Welsh<\/a> of Rice (a 63.26m thrower last year for Harvard), and Coach Denard\u2019s guy Aidan Elbettar<\/a>, who threw a meter-and-a-half PB of 59.91m to take fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was a big breakthrough for Aidan, who had struggled in the past against top competition. \u201cLast year,\u201d says Denard, \u201che caged all three of his attempts throwing against Mykolas Alekna<\/a> at the conference meet and again at the regionals, so for him to throw well against Turner and Claudio and Dallin is a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference this time?  \u201cHe was attacking. Aidan only had one fair throw, but it wasn\u2019t because he was throwing scared. His fouls were good fouls. He was being aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conditions in Austin were championship level as well, according to Denard. \u201cThey can move the discus cage,\u201d he explained, \u201cso they were able to face it into an eight-to-twelve mile an hour wind. Plus it was 85 degrees, and there were lots of people there, so the energy level in the stadium was high.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While in Austin, Denard\u2019s athletes also got the chance to practice a bit with shot put world record holder Ryan Crouser<\/a>, who was in town to serve as Honorary Referee. That session, Aidan\u2019s breakthrough, and the presence of a chicken-shaped disco ball at a local restaurant made for a memorable weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An auspicious start<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The performance of the weekend came in the men\u2019s jav when Auburn freshman Keyshawn Strachan<\/a> went 84.27m on the second throw of his college career. It was a PB, a school record, a world lead, and the fourth best throw in NCAA history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat,\u201d in the words of Pat Ebel, \u201cwas unexpected. Based on his training numbers and his practice PR of around 79.80m, I was hoping to see him open around 78-80 meters. Then he fouled his first attempt, which went about 82 meters, so I told him to move his runup back around half a jav length, and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denard was not surprised. \u201cI\u2019ve seen Keyshawn throw before,\u201d he said, \u201cand he\u2019s incredibly talented. To me, he\u2019s the Michael Jordan of javelin throwing. When he hits the point, it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ebel says that Keyshawn is \u201ccapable of throwing over 80 meters any time he steps on the runway,\u201d and that he benefited from the atmosphere in Austin. \u201cHe was excited to throw in front of this crowd and to compete against guys like Curtis Thompson<\/a> (87.70m PB). And, his mom, grandmother, and coach from the Bahamas all made it in to see him throw, so it was a special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next step for Strachan?  Consistency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis throw after the 84.27m went about 74 meters,\u201d according to Ebel. \u201cHe blew through every position and fouled it by about ten feet. So our goal will be to get him regularly in the 80-meter range.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keyshawn\u2019s bomb overshadowed a great performance by Chinecherem Nnamdi <\/a>of Baylor, the bronze medalist at the 2021 World U20 Championships, and a nice 79.29m opener for Thompson. With two more collegiate throwers\u2013LSU\u2019s Tzuriel Pedigo<\/a> and BYU\u2019s Cameron Bates<\/a>\u2013over the 75-meter mark, and Virginia\u2019s  Ethan Dabbs (the 2022 USATF champion) just under it, expect some fireworks this June when these fellows tee it up again on the same runway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Coach Denard, I’m a lifelong Chicago Bulls fan, so I know who I\u2019m picking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As another weekend of NCAA competition heats up, here’s a quick look back at last week’s Texas Relays. Hammer time Pat Ebel\u2019s Auburn throws squad had a great weekend. Maddie Malone got the Tigers rolling on Thursday with a win in the women\u2019s hammer. Her best of 68.45m topped Canadian Kaila Butler of the Kamloops … Continue reading Big throws at the 2023 Texas Relays!<\/span> →<\/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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","category-meets","category-ncaa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8knIb-VS","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3588","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=3588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}