Just what does a record-setting hammer and weight thrower have to do to get a little love from the track media and the generality of his chosen sport, anyway?  For his substantial accomplishments with the ball and chain over three years, New Yorker Walter Henning seemed to get an endless series of headlines and, eventually, a DyeStat Athlete of the Year award and two such honors from Track and Field News.  But as the 2008 season has come to an end, both of Henning’s HSRs in those events had been shattered by a young Californian who, by all counts, has not garnished nearly the level of attention.

Maybe it was all those records and record attempts in The Armory, where Henning practically commanded his own corner of the hallowed facility, with the weight-throwing cage having been built especially for him.  But that’s also where Conor McCullough’s 2008 campaign began.  When the 6’4”, 200-pound Chaminade CA junior stepped into the ring at NSIC this March, it was the first time he’d even SEEN a weight throwing facility.  It didn’t take him long to get used to it.  On his third throw, he took down Henning’s year-old mark with an awesome 87-10.75.

McCullough soon returned to the hammer, his true specialty.  At the start of June, he put up a big 250-01 PR, improving his hold on #3 all-time.  Then he joined Henning at the USATF Juniors, where he flung the heavier junior implement 233-05, 2nd behind the LSU frosh and making the team for Poland.  A week later, at the USATF Youth meet, he landed the 260-00 bomb with the HS hammer that put his name atop the all-time list.  Finally, at the World Juniors, he took silver behind Henning’s gold, breaking a third Henning mark with 248-11 for the junior implement and joining the collegian as the first two US medalists ever in World Junior meet history.

And Conor still has another year to improve..

Almost every year, it seems like a shot putter makes a big 8-10 foot improvement as a senior and comes from outside the national radar to make a big splash.  Last year, Jimmie Pacifico kind of fit that bill.  This year, it was Jordan Clarke.  In 2007, the Anchorage (Bartlett HS) AK thrower hit 61-03.25, which made him the 9th-leading returnee for this spring.  But he surged past all of those athletes to become the only putter to hit 70 feet this year and lead all U.S. throwers.  His put of 71-03 in the ASAA State Meet moved him to #8 on the all-time list.

Clarke first made headlines on a big scale when he hit 67-10.75, a two-foot PR, at a local last chance meet the second weekend in May to take the US lead.  At his Region IV meet eight days later, he made the big jump up to 70-06, becoming the 14th outdoor 70-footer in prep history.  At the same meet, he hurled the discus 194-08, also a PR to that point.  Finally, at the May 24 finals, he netted his final PR with a series that also included 70-08 and 69-05.50. 

For the post-season, Clarke decided Nike Outdoor was a little too late and too far, despite the great competition that he would have faced.  But he did travel to California for the earlier Golden West meet, where he easily won the shot and discus.  While he wasn’t able to improve on his shot PR (just 64-10.50), he did crack the 200-foot discus barrier on his final fair throw of the night at 204-00.

In an event where consistency is tough to attain and where the new implement is still new enough that a top ten performer carries less weight, it’s tough to make your mark among peers from other events.  But what Daphne AL senior Kyle Smith did in 2008, with his marks and major victories, was enough to earn respect with this group.

After a best of 172-11 as a junior, Smith started out in March with a big PR of 205-04 at St. Paul’s.  Showing it was no fluke, he continued with several meets in the 190s, including a decisive win in the prestigious Mobile Challenge of Champions.  Then came the AHSA state meet, where Smith launched a career-defining throw of 223-08, taking the US#1 spot (for the year) and smashing the Alabama record.  It also made him #9 on the all-time list (new jav started in 1987).  Ten days later, Smith would also win his state’s decathlon title with a respectable 5771.

For the post-season, Smith focused on two big meets, Great Southwest and USATF Juniors, with his eye on making the team for Poland.  In Albuquerque, he came up with what was then his #2 meet of the year, winning with 208-11.  Then two weeks later in Columbus, he came even closer to his PR, with a 217-08, but finished third and absorbed his only loss to a high-schooler all year as Matt Byers KS was 2nd.