INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Throwing their weight around
World class athletes put on a show here
For a few brief hours Saturday, Melissa Kurzdorfer was not the best shot putter in Lancaster.
The Redskins prodigy temporarily relinquished that title to watch some of the best in her field participate in the 2009 Rock & Roll Throw-Off Invitational in the Lancaster Fieldhouse.
The inaugural event, organized by Redskins throws coach George Rak, drew an impressive field of high school, collegiate and world-class athletes.
Among them was A. G. Kruger, who competed in the hammer throw at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2004 Games in Athens. Jamestown native Sheldon Battle, an Olympic trials competitor, was there along with nationally known throwers Jake Freeman, Steve Manz, Adrianne Blewitt and Adam Vickers.
There was a high school meet for boys and girls before the event climaxed with a stirring exhibition from the nation’s best. Freeman won the open men’s weight throw in a personal- record 77 feet, 1 inch. Kruger was second at 75 feet.
“It was amazing. I’ve never seen anyone throw that far before. It was impressive,” said Kurzdorfer. “I couldn’t believe how far . . . and their technique was so solid. Kruger did a four-spin and that was impressive in itself. Jake Freeman — I don’t remember how many spins he did, but he ended up winning. Both of them were masters of their sport.”
Kurzdorfer drew her share of cheers as well. Not only did she win the girls shot put in 47-3, she broke the New York State record in the weight throw with a 57-7z. It’s the second state record this season for Kurzdorfer, who also holds the mark in the shot put at 47-9.
Kruger is a Sheldon, Iowa, native and a resident of Ashland, Ohio. His wife is from Hamburg, so the Throw- Off gave them a chance to reconnect with their Western New York family.
Kruger doesn’t have the stereotypical build of a shot putter. He’s a lean 6-foot-4, 258 pounds. He still laughs at a photo he has of himself as a high school athlete standing on the podium at the state meet with the other place winners.
“They were all monsters. They morphed me,” Kruger said.
Kruger was an early arrival Saturday, and he used the time to talk with the many young athletes who lined the shot put cage. His message was one of patience as a thrower as much as technique. He said he went into a competition last weekend hoping to throw a respectable 76 or 77 feet and ended up throwing 79.
“Throwing is kind of a weird thing. Until you’ve done it years upon years, you really can’t expect what you’re going to throw,” he said. “You can’t hold yourself to great expectations, but you can hope for great expectations. And that’s the greatest thing I can say to younger athletes is you do all your training, and when you come to a meet, have fun and don’t worry about distances — they’ll come. You have to relax and have fun.”
John Urschel of Canisius leads Western New York boys in the shot put at 57 feet. He was disappointed after finishing second (55-7b) in the Throw-Off to Dominic Filiano of Lebanon, N. H. (58-3), but he did enjoy the exhibition that followed.
“That was pretty crazy. It was real cool to meet some Olympians. It was a great experience I thought,” said Urschel, who will sign next month to play football at Penn State. “At first I was real focused trying to beat that kid from New Hampshire. He actually beat me at Dartmouth as well. Everyone was pulling for me, all the local guys, but I came up a little short.”
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments