From now through Friday, VMIKeydets.com will provide a preview of this coming weekend's Big South Indoor Track and Field Championships, set for Saturday and Sunday in Clemson, S.C. The first four days of the preview will feature one in-depth event preview per day, with a focus on events that could favor the VMI squad, and will culminate with a video interview with Coach Darrin Webb that will air on Friday. The preview continues today with the men's weight throw.
Unlike the event previewed yesterday, the women's pole vault, the men's weight has a clear-cut favorite. Timothy Morse of Radford has the longest throw in the conference this season, a toss of 19.97 meters (65'6 ¼”) earlier this month. That ranks as the 23rd-best effort in the country this year, and is nearly a full meter ahead of his teammate Matt Dobson, who ranks second in the Big South this season (62'4”/19.0 meters).
VMI's Chad Lawson is the defending conference champion in this event, but will likely have to improve on his personal best effort (59'2”/18.03 meters) in order to successfully defend that title. In addition, three other athletes have heaved the weight over 58 feet this season.
Top Contenders:
Morse, Radford: Morse's 19.97 meter toss (65'5 ¼”) came at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, where he finished fourth overall in the most crowded field of throwers this year. At that meet, Walter Henning of LSU posted the top effort in the NCAA this season, a throw of well over 75 meters. Throwers from both South Carolina and Manhattan finished second and third, with tosses that remain in the top-15 of NCAA results this year. Morse redshirted last year, but was second in 2008 with a throw that nearly equaled this season's best effort (19.77 meters).
Dobson, Radford: Dobson was third at last year's indoor championships, trailing Lawson's winning throw by just .15 meters, and he has improved this season. The second of Radford's two senior throwers has thrown the weight over 18.50 meters twice this year, including his 19-meter toss at the Akron Invitational two weeks ago.
Lawson, VMI: One of the best overall throwers at VMI in recent memory, Lawson's crowning moment came in this event last season, when he outlasted several athletes to win his first Big South title. That throw, a 17.59 meter effort, would only be good for the fifth-best throw in the conference this year. However, Lawson has shown an ability to rise to the occasion throughout his VMI career, and he seems to be trending upward as this season progresses.
James Hayes, Charleston Southern: Hayes is a redshirt senior who has worked his way into all-conference contention. After only posting a collegiate best of 14.69 meters through the end of the 2008 indoor season, he has ratcheted that performance up to this year's best that he set last weekend. At the Tiger Tune-Up, held at Clemson's indoor facility just a few days ago, Hayes threw the implement 17.81 meters (58'5 ¼”) to place himself fifth in the conference during this season. He also has a throw of 17.17 meters this year, an effort that would place him sixth in the Big South.
Christopher Hutschalik, Gardner-Webb: Hutschalik sits at #6 on the conference's performance list this year (58'1”/17.70 meters), a season after he failed to post a distance in this event at the '09 Big South Championships. He is a force in the league's throwing events; however, as he is the defending champion in the hammer throw during the outdoor campaign.
Cody Davis, VMI: Davis currently sits eighth in the conference standings, but his results have steadily trended upwards this season, culminating with his season's best throw of 16.75 meters at the Akron Invitational. He should score points at this event during the Championships, and could earn a finish in the top three or four if his pattern of improvement continues.
Full Preview Index:
Monday - Women's Pole Vault
Tuesday - Men's Weight Throw
