South Dakota's newest high school track and field event: the javelin

BROOKINGS – High school track and field in South Dakota has been around for a long time.

Since 1906, high school students have been competing in events like the shot put, high jump, 440-yard dash (now 400 meters) and one-mile run (now 1600). With such a rich history, its exceedingly rare to have a “first” in any event. High school female track and field athletes will get that rare chance this year as a new event has been added to their high school track program: the javelin throw.

For the first time ever, South Dakota will have a female high school state champion in the javelin. For boys, it will be the first time since 1929 that a state champion javelin thrower will be crowned.

In the javelin throw, athletes throw javelin, a spear about 2.5 meters in length, as far as possible. According to worldathletics.org, it requires a combination of strength, power, timing, coordination and precision.

At Brookings High School, a contingent of track and field student-athletes have been trying their hand at this new event under the guidance of high school biology teacher Lisa Bahe, who competed in javelin for the South Dakota State University Track and Field team.

“It seemed fun and interesting, so I thought I would give it a try,” said high school senior Clair Burns. “It’s fun to watch and its senior year so might as well.”

Burns and fellow senior thrower Sydney Grendler both started learning the basics of javelin throwing last year, when the event was merely an “exhibition.” This will be the first year that both will be competing in the event at meets.

“I play softball so it’s kind of sort of the same,” Grendler said. “I throw shot (put) as well so it will give me another event to do.”

Burns and Grendler both said it was a little tricky at first picking up the technique. The throwing motion is simple, they said, as it similar to other field events but it’s different than the throwing a football or softball.

“It was kind of hard at first because the motion isn’t natural; it’s not like throwing a ball or anything,” Burns said.

“It was weird running because you have to run with your arm out,” Grendler.

“The fundamentals of it are similar to throwing shot or discus,” Burns said.

Where the event gets a little more challenging is learning the footwork and necessary release point to get the javelin to “stick” in the ground. Burns and Grendler explained that getting the javelin to stick in the ground is an important step to improving as a javelin thrower.

“Once you get it to stick, that means you have a good release point,” Burns said.

“It’s always fun when someone gets it to stick like when one of us get it to stick ‘oh yeah, good job,’” Grendler said. “It’s kind of like our goal.”

For safety purposes, high school javelins have a rubber tip on the edge of the spear. For collegiate and international competitions, there is no rubber tip, making it much easier to stick the javelin.

Unfortunately, getting the javelin “stuck” hasn’t happened a whole lot for the Bobcats this year because of the weather. The ground has been rock solid, and outdoor practice has been limited. However, the team is still able to get javelin practice indoors by throwing footballs and softballs, along with other drills that have Bahe knows.

“Coach Bahe does a good job of breaking down the technique, step-by-step,” Burns said.

“She coaches other sports, too, so she’s really good at putting it in other terms,” Grendler said. “She’ll compare it to softball or volleyball.”

Bahe explained that the unpredictable and unseasonable spring this year has been a challenge this year. A BHS grad, Tasha Kryger, coaches javelin in the Seattle area. Out there, they are able to practice outside almost every day, which is highly beneficial to the student-athletes who are just learning the sport. In comparison, the BHS track and field team has been practicing since early March. They have only been able to throw outside a handful of times.

Competition

At high-level track and field meets, like the Olympic Games or NCAA Track and Field Championships, javelin throwers will compete on a runway, throwing onto a field, oftentimes the infield of the track. The Brookings High School track does not have a runway, which means javelin competitions will take place across the street at Medary Elementary’s open field.

The “runway” used there will be all grass, similar to what most other meets that Bobcats travel to will have. The interesting part is that for the state meet, which is scheduled to be held at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls, a runway will likely be used – different than what all the athletes who qualified will be used to.

Another interesting aspect to the new event will be the footwear. Collegiate javelin throwers will purchase javelin “boots,” which are specifically designed to prevent injury and ensure the foot is supported. This is done through spikes, or pins, in the heel that plant in the ground prior to the throw. Because javelin boots are fairly expensive, Bahe has provided some alternatives. These include small heel spikes that can be slipped onto other shoes. Another solution has been for the boys to make use of football cleats, which are similar in nature to javelin boots.

Javelin competitions have a few quirks. Girls javelin should throw into the wind, and boys javelin should throw with the wind. According to Bahe, this is because of the weights of the javelin, which are 600 grams for the girls and 800 grams for the boys.

“The wind can play a factor for us,” Bahe said, explaining that for home meets, they will always throw west but have been practicing primarily with a cross-wind.

The first outdoor meet of the year was on April 8 in Huron. It was the first time this year that the student-athletes had a chance to compete in the javelin. Despite some unpleasant weather, more than 30 girls competed, including 11 from Brookings. Landree Wilson, a junior, lead the way for the ’Cats with a 105-foot throw. Both Grendeler and Burns competed as well, throwing the javelin 71 feet and 70 feet respectively.

On the boys side, more than 25 student-athletes competed, including two from Brookings. Brock Longville led the way for the Bobcats with a 124-foot throw, and Ryan Nielsen had a mark of 96 feet.

To make it to the state meet in Class AA, there is no specific mark. Rather, it’s just the top 24 throws who qualify. Teams are limited to three entries per, which means the 27th or even 30th throw could still make it. As it’s a new event, no one is quite sure what it will take to qualify, but Bahe reckons that a 100-foot throw for the girls will be quite good. The women’s world record throw is 234 feet, 8 inches, held by Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic.

On the boys side, there is some historical marks to shot for as javelin was an official event in the 1920s. Brookings High School’s school record is 146 feet, 6 inches, held by Robert Wilson in 1927. The current world record javelin throw (using the current javelin specifics) for men is 343 feet, 1 inch, done by Jan Zelezny, of the Czech Republic.

“I think it’s great for South Dakota,” Bahe said. “A lot of times, throwers go to a track meet, and they only have two events, and everyone else can do four. It gives them another event to do.”