Photo
courtesy of Arrhenius family.
Utah's Leif Arrhenius has to squint to
view the mammoth landings these days!
By
Rich Gonzalez, DyeStatCal Editor
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 field 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.
Leif's Magical
Hammer Heaves of '04
February 7, 2004 |
No. Utah Coaches' Inv. |
82'6" |
New national HS record! |
February 14, 2004 |
Western States Open |
82'10" |
New national HS record! |
February 19, 2004 |
Simplot Indoor Games |
??'?" |
Stay tuned for coverage! |
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 weight 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-drive 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"
Photo courtesy of Arrhenius family.
Visions
of his older brother Nik, who owns the national
HS record in the discus, Leif whirls above in the ring!
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, which a lifetime-best heave of 62-6, and a
couple of fouls in the 63-foot range. The 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!"
Miler's
name |
School/State |
Finish
Time |
Kyle Milller |
Cinco Ranch,
TX |
4:12.16 |
Colby Wissel |
Kearney, NE |
4:12.53 |
Scott MacPherson |
Plano, TX |
4:12.56 |
Chris Spooner |
Lewisburg, PA |
4:12.98 |
Erik Stanley |
Klein, TX |
4:18.20 |
Burt Hicks |
AR |
4:26.42 |
Leonel Manzano |
Marble Falls,
TX |
4:29.64 |
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 the 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 nabbing
Wissel in 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 four weeks down the road.
National Leaders:
A Pair of Great 4 by 8's!
There was the usual
weekend excitement in The Big Apple on Saturday, where the Armory
Collegiate Invitational took place. While the post-preps were the
ones gleaning the spotlight, a few specially invited high school squads
shined to put for seasonal nation-leading efforts in the distance
relays. Fordham Prep, powered by a fine reported split of 1:53.8 from
senior Brian McCabe, flew through the 4x800 in a 2004 best 7:54.63.
On the girls' side it was Boys and Girls' HS of Brooklyn that wheeled
around the track to claim the national leader in the same event, in
a time of 9:06.75, which also registered #3 all-time.
Also on the East Coast,
North Rowan High rode a 1-2-4 placing in the triple jump to claim
yet another indoor team title at the North Carolina state meet. Andre
Tillman bounded 49-4.25 to up his national lead in the event, with
teammates Terry Wood (48-10) and Mark Sturgis (48-1.5) still holding
down the #2 and #3 positions in this year's indoor national lists.
The trio also took part on the scoring 4x400 relay unit which clinched
the team title. For veteran coach Robert Steele, architect of the
finest triple jumps program in the nation, it was his last indoor
title. He will retire after the outdoor season, closing out a sensational
28-year coaching career.
In Maryland, the big state-meet
news was the sensational weekend for Oakland Mills senioer Anthony
Cole, who moved into the 2004 national top 10 lists with victories
in the 55m (6.35) and the 300m (34.87), to go along with contributing
legs on the team's victorious relay efforts. All four marks were reportedly
state-meet records!