February 15, 2004

Leif's Fallin' (records)
Arrhenius throws down the hammer - AGAIN!
Thrower breaks his 1-week-old nat'l record; Miller wins Arkansas mile; State meets underway!

by Rich Gonzalez,
editor of DyeStatCal and DyeStat national correspondent

Photo courtesy of Arrhenius family.
Utah's Leif Arrhenius has to squint to
view the mammoth landings these days!

     Imagine, if you can, the odds of breaking a national record. Tough? Yes, indeed!
       Now imagine breaking a national record two weeks in a row. Very rare.
       Now imagine Leif Arrhenius' position as he aims to break the national high school record for a third week in a row.
       Has it ever happened? We are not sure. Can it happen now? We'll find out at the Simplot Games this Thursday.
       Arrhenius, who belted out a toss of 82 feet, 6 inches to claim the national high school weight throw record early this month, pushed the all-time standard even further down the landing sector with a mammoth 82-10 fling this past Saturday at the Western States Open. Arrhenius, a senior at Mountain View HS in Orem (UT), claimed the record for a second week in a row in final-round competition, highlighting the national prep action from coast to coast on Valentine's Day weekend. Down in Arkansas, it was Texas miler Kyle Miller who garnered attention after claiming victory over a stellar high school field assembled for the Tyson Invitational, while out on the East Coast it was North Rowan HS which relied heavily on its star-studded triple jumps cast to win the 4x400 relay in claiming the North Carolina state indoor title for the fifth time. And undercover at The Armory, it was Fordham Prep's boys team and Boys and Girls girls squad which came away with nation-leading marks in the 4x800.

        But the big news of the weekend was clearly Arrhenius, with the throwing star nailing his record toss of the 25-pound implement in the sixth and final round for a second consecutive week. Planned theatrics? "Well, it just takes me a while to get warmed up," gushed the teen. "I always try improving on each throw, once I get used to the conditions."
        Arrhenius' senior year has thus far somewhat mimicked that of older brother Niklas Arrhenius, who set the national prep discus throw record as a 12th-grader in the spring of 2001. For both, ample snowfall and freezing temperatures cut into practice time.
         "It's not that bad right now, because I still lift (weights) a lot (indoors) and I can practice the wieght throw inside too," explained the younger Arrhenius. "My technique has been off the last two weekends, though. Both of my national record breaking throws were not good throws. My one for the record this past weekend basically came off of one leg, as I had a problem with the spin. If my technique is on, I feel I've got an 85(-footer) inside me."
         Arrhenius attributes part of the challenge to adjusting his technique, abandoning a push-turn approach in favor of a winding motion in initiating his efforts. He threw an impressive distance of 81-1 in the fourth round, despite a line-driver trajectory, then fouled in the 82-foot range in the fifth round.
         "My technique," Arrhenius conceded, "has been really off. I do two turns;  my first turn is good, but my second one is a problem"

         His aim is to abolish those flaws in the coming days, when the Simplot Indoor Games come calling. In addition to a record hammer quest for a third consecutive weekend, Arrhenius seeks to continue his recent performance upswing in the shot put, with a lifetime-best heave of 62-6, and a couple of fouls in the 63-foot range. Then his focus turns to discus training.
         "That starts the week after Simplot," Arrhenius replied. "My goal is to go at least 220 in the disc, and I'll be happy. But I'll be gunning for 225. I'll be at Arcadia, Texas Relays, the Great Southwest and the Golden West as my main meets."

It's Miller Time!

Photo courtesy of PhotoRun
Seen here at the Foot Locker XC South Regionals,
Texas' Kyle Miller (Cinco Ranch HS) was the big winner
among an excellent group of milers assembled in Arkansas!

        FootLocker Cross-Country Nationals weekend was perhaps the most unforgettable running experience of Kyle Miller's life. But the race itself? That was the forgettable part.
        Despite the great times enjoying mixing with national-class peers for a weekend of sun-fun-and-run, Miller had the ignominious distinction of placing 31st among the 31 starters in the boys race (one runner was sidelined). Despite the potentially haunting memory, give Miller major credit, however, for choosing not to dwell on the episode for too long.
        "Yeah, it was pretty embarrassing being last that day, but it just seemed like I'd already hit my season goal (of qualifying for the nationals race)," quipped the Texan talent. "I had concentrated more on making the team, but i felt a little flat once I was there. It was bad, but it wasn't really indicative of my season. I'd done well that season, so I knew it wasn't worth dwelling on just that one day."
        And Miller, a senior at Cinco Ranch HS in Katy (TX), has since rebounded in very encouraging fashion, kicking off the meat of his 2004 calendar with a surprising victory in the featured high school boys mile at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville (AR). Competing among several high-profile milers making their season debut, Miller rode a well-timed kick to reel in Nebraska's Colby Wissel and win by nearly a stride, 4:12.16 to 4:12.53. Among those in the field were the nation's leading returner miler (Texan Erik Stanley, with a converted 4:05.27 mile in 2003), another Lone Star State megatalent (Leonel Manzano, with a converted 4:07.79 a year ago), and a 4:13 miler (Pennsylvania's Chris Spooner).
        "It was a little surprising (to win), but it was a close race that several guys had a chance to take it," quipped the upbeat Miller. "This was just the opener for most of us, who are just getting into the base work in training."

Tyson Invitational -- "It's Miller Time!"

        Miller admitted coming in that he felt ill-prepared to post a super-good indoor time without the luxury of sharpening that many of the East Coast kids experience on the weekly indoor circuit, but did quite well nonetheless, especially considering it was his first time competing on a banked oval.
         Starting from lane 1, Miller quickly eased out toward Lane 2 to diminish any likelihood of getting boxed, then remained grouped among a loosely-knit pack of five through the first five laps. It was with 600 meters (three laps) to go that Miller and the others began increasing the tempo, with Miller digging down extra deep with 400m remaining to join Wissel, then seizing the lead with 100 meters left, holding it to the finish.
         Miller is among a sensational cast of milers on the national landscape this year, with almost all of them gearing for a mid-March showdown at the Nike Indoor Classic in Maryland. Since the outdoor season begins in Texas next weekend, look for the Lone Star's best distance runners to appear much sharper against their East Coast counterparts 4 weeks down the road.

Rich's Recap index

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