By: Con Marshall
Chadron State College’s outstanding hammer throwers were hoping to add a few more feet and inches to their best marks at the Air Force Academy Twilight Open Meet on Friday. That didn’t happen, but both continued to throw well while placing second and third in the competition.
Shane Collins of Bison, S.D., was second with a heave of 200 feet, 10 inches and Daniel Reynolds of Ganby, Colo., was third at 193-6. The winner was Jaret Prete of the Air Force Academy at 205-0.
Both Chadron State throwers are sophomores. They entered the meet to help them “stay sharp” for the NCAA Division II National Championships that will be May 26-28 at Allendale, Mich.
During the recent Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships, Collins broke the loop’s hammer throw record with his career-best of 202-0 and Reynolds was the runner-up at 201-10. Two weeks prior to that, Reynolds reset the Chadron State record by throwing 203-6.
Reynolds currently is tied for eighth and Collins is 11th on the Division II leader board, which is led by senior Tanner Berg of Northern State at Aberdeen, S.D., with a remarkable throw of 230-10. Second on the list is Austin Combs of Findlay in Ohio, at 224-9. Combs won the event and set the DII record last year by hitting 236-2.
Approximately 20 athletes in each of the individual events will qualify for the national championships.
Chadron State Head Coach Riley Northrup said Collins and Reynolds will probably throw at least once at “last chance” meets at either Concordia University at Seward or Nebraska-Kearney this coming week. He added that the CSC men’s 4x100 relay team is planning to enter both of those meets in hopes of posting a qualifying mark for the national championships.
The coach added that sophomore high jumper Jourdaine Cerenil of Pine Bluffs, Wyo., will probably compete at one or both of those meets. She is tied for ninth on the DII chart with a career-best mark of 5-8.