Ready To Throw Down At NCAAs
06/05/19 | Track and Field, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon's throwers pledged to be well-represented at this year's NCAA Championships, and they have five entries as the meet begins Wednesday.
For the second year in a row, Max Lydum stepped up with a personal-best effort in the hammer throw at the NCAA West Preliminary meet. For the first time, it was good enough to get him onto collegiate track and field's grandest stage, the NCAA Championship meet.
The fact that Lydum was the 12th and final qualifier from the regional meet, on May 23 in Sacramento, Calif., did exactly nothing to diminish his excitement at having reached nationals, once it became official.
"A little bit of pandemonium broke out at that point," Lydum acknowledged last week before a training session. "It was a huge release – a huge release."
The dramatic circumstances at regionals made for Lydum's jubilation at qualifying for nationals. His PR throw of 210 feet, 6 inches, came on his final effort of the regional meet. Lydum was throwing in the second of three flights, and had to wait out the third flight to see if he would advance.
With a single thrower left to take the very last attempt of the competition, Lydum sat exactly on the bubble in 12th place. When that thrower fouled, Lydum could finally exhale.
"We had a lot of people there watching, and everyone was really nervous," Lydum recalled. "But then, that's why it was so exciting."
The pandemonium that ensued once Lydum advanced didn't only reflect the drama of the day, however. It also stemmed from the year-long commitment he and his fellow UO throwers made to advance a large contingent to this year's NCAA Championships, which begin Wednesday in Austin, Texas.
A year ago, Oregon's throws contingent numbered exactly two – Keira McCarrell in the women's javelin, and John Nizich in the men's javelin. For Lydum in particular that didn't sit well, as it broke a five-year streak by the Ducks with a qualifier in the men's hammer.
On Sunday, Lydum and the rest of the UO men's contingent that will open competition Wednesday travelled to Texas, and Lydum was joined on the trip by Nizich and a second javelin thrower, Jackson VanVuren. They were to be joined soon after by members of the UO women's team who will begin competition Thursday, including two more throwers, McCarrell and Kiana Phelps (discus on Saturday).
A year after their disappointment last spring, the UO throwers more than doubled the size of their NCAA Championships contingent, from two to five.
"We made a goal to get more qualifiers and get more points at Pac-12s, which we did, and then get more qualifiers to NCAAs, which we did also," Lydum said. "And so, what we've done so far feels good. But we think we have a little bit more to contribute at nationals."
Lydum says that despite having set his personal best at regionals. He's had throws in warmups that felt even farther than 210-6, he said, and some narrow fouls in competition that might have measured farther as well. His aim at nationals will be to cut it loose with the same abandon he did at the preliminary meet.
"It was just kind of getting out of the way a little bit, and letting the training take over," Lydum said. "You get to a certain point where you've done so much training; you've taken so many throws. It's nice just to be able to release, you know, and just let what's going to happen, happen. Trust the training, trust the work you've done."
Do that again this week in Austin, and the UO throwers could help the Ducks collect some serious hardware, namely a team trophy for a top-four finish.
"We think we're in position to do really well and succeed," Lydum said. "We have a great group of guys from all the disciplines, which is really cool. We have sprinters, some distance, we've got a decathlete and we have some throwers. And so, if we go and do what we know how to do, the result's going to be just fine."
Players Mentioned
