the Oregon preview is just a meet for athletes to come, see where they are at and get a meet under their belts, but after that things start to matter a little more. its not just to get a meet under your belt anymore, its not to get the jitters out of your system, meets after the oregon preview are where it counts, where there are no excuses, where you represent your school and try to be the best you can be. and i was happy to get to this meet. i really wanted to show that the oregon preview was just a bad meet, and that i could throw for the oregon team at a higher level. i think so many people see me as a fluke thrower, that i threw 241 once and that i will never do it again but maybe once in a blue moon. i was determined to throw 230'+ at the stanford invitational.

we had amazing weather, about 75 degrees and a light wind (it changed directions from headwind to tailwind but both are better than a cross wind) we had some good competitors, a bunch with PRs around 220's so i new i couldnt coast through this meet.

britton nelson a teammate and javelin thrower didnt make it into the invitational part of the meet but he was still throwing in the collegiate portion. this kid is talented (and the reason i am getting off subject will come clear soon) but britton is an awesome guy, he loves javelin, his family loves javelin, hes got good form and hes incredibly strong. i have wanted him to PR all last year, but i saw him struggle at almost every meet. i just new this year he would throw well. but at the oregon preview i saw the old britton, he didnt throw well and the second he didnt he started digging a whole for himself, he would put his head down and he would dig so hard trying to get out but it would only make it worse. he just needed one big throw and he would be considered a big part of our team and it would boost his confidence to make him a great javelin thrower.

so his flight starts and he throws, its a decent throw, he didnt have the best form that i have seen him throw in practice but it flew really nice. the board turns around to show his mark and its a NEW PR for him. i was so happy to see it, finally he gets a boost of confidence. it just brightened my day, made me so happy. i was jacked to see him smile. he then on his 3rd throw PRs again. even bigger 210'9" i was so happy to see it. in a meet where i wanted to relax and throw with good form and no adrenaline (unlike the preview) he just jacked me up.... i was kind of afraid for a repeat of the oregon preview but i had to get ready.

for starters the officials at the meet were idiots. we got to the field about 40 minutes before the event was suppose to start and they have us start picking in the field. we go down and back once and he asks us if we want to pick down and back again.... OF COURSE we want to! we need to go down and back 3 or 4 times to get a proper warm up. i was so mad at them for being so stupid. we only went down and back 2 times. but i was ready to go, i dont like to warm up too much before the meets. i dont know why. i just rememnber last year i could only throw 3 throws so i never want to get tired before the meet starts from all our warm up throws.

there were some big competitors there, ryan young from CAL was the next best thrower on the list, but i still consider alex wolff my teammate my biggest competition, he always throws effortlessly and seems to do so well. my goal was to throw effortlessly and let my hips and legs do the work.

first throw up, i am the last thrower bc i have the best previous PR, i get up and i am starting from my 2/3rds approach, its 4 running steps into 7 crossovers, its a little more speed than the Oregon Preview and i was hoping it would add speed to my arm and my throws would be farther. i ran into the block and felt myself speed up into the block, i was relaxed and i didnt ask for a slow clap or anything. lol. but i hit the block and screamed, but i felt like i screamed out of habit not because i had to or because i threw it so hard with all my strength. but it just took off. we cant see the lines from the runway and all the lines were in feet anyway but i had no clue how far it was, the last line is 200 ft so all i knew is i was past it. i was thinking 220's. the reader board flips around and its 74.64m and i was like wait a second thats further than my PR! i just had a big smile, 245'3". i never expected to be at my PR so soon. but i have to give credit to our coach christina, last year it took a lot of building up learning and getting better every meet, but christina really prepares you to throw at a high level from the begining, and then she has you keep learning and keep building as the year goes. shes amazing.

but finally i had done what i wanted. i had thrown effortlessly. i was jogging a bit between throws and our other coaches, steele and lananna said that now i need to get the school record at 253, i piped back instantly without hestiation or thought in mind about it but i said no. i will do that at the pepsi invite at home. its a big accomplishment to be calling my own shots like babe ruth like that but i have a good feeling that if we get the right weather i can do it, if not at pepsi then very soon.

the rest of my throws i thought of like practice, i need to be consistant, stay around 70 meters (229'7") i had 4 throws 69m or above and 2 kind of bad throws, but i didnt scratch even once, i got the 1st place victory and i was really happy.

just the cherry on top but 4 of 5 javelin throwers of our new coach christina have PRed in 2 opening meets this season. britton PRed at stanford, alex took 3rd with a PR of 224'11", ashley PRed at the preview at 172' and i PRed by 3.5 ft as well. not to mention that rachel was only 3 inches off her PR and got 1st against the american record holder kim kriener at stanford.

so Congrats to all the Oregon Javelin throwers and thank you to Christina Scherwin the greatest javelin coach i could have ever asked for.