Hammer throwers led Sioux City relays
By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer | Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008
This hammer throwing fraternity is a tight-knit community.
Today, on the first day of the 2008 Sioux City Relays, America's No. 1-ranked hammer thrower, Morningside graduate A.G. Kruger, will continue his quest for a berth on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.
The Sheldon native was a member of the U.S. hammer contingent in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Last year, Kruger returned to Sioux City and established a Relays and Olsen Stadium record with a throw of 253 feet, seven feet shy of his personal best toss.
Kruger now lives and trains in Ashland, Ohio, under the supervision of Ashland University track coach Jud Logan, who also runs the Ashland Elite club that specializes in training hammer throwers like Kruger.
Wayne State hammer thrower Brett Suckstorf knows all about Kruger and Ashland. And, Kruger is familiar with Suckstoff's throws coach at Wayne, Josh Whisman, a standout thrower at Tennessee who is in his second year as a Wayne grad assistant.
"I had the privilege of throwing against A.G. in the Sioux City Relays last year and he's so far out of my league right now,'' says Suckstorff, whose personal best of 186 feet, 6 inches this spring in comparable to what Kruger accomplished when he was a junior at Morningside.
"A.G.'s speed in the ring is ungodly, but I'm really new to this event. I'm 6-3 and 220 pounds, but when I came to Wayne I was 6-3 and 160 pounds and asked the coaches if I could be part of the team.''
"My goal this year is to meet the Division II qualifying standard of 191 feet, but Coach Whisman feels 200 (feet) is realistic for this season.
"The best guy in Division II right now is from Ashland, Rob Klenk. He's got a throw of just over 210 feet this spring, so my work is cut out for me.''
Kruger works with Klenk and another Ashland athlete who has thrown 195 feet this spring, Mike Jeffery.
"I know those Ashland kids very well,'' said the 29-year-old Kruger, who is spending the weekend at his parents home in Sheldon before departing Saturday to compete on Sunday in the Mt. Sac Relays near Los Angeles. "The facility in Sioux City is outstanding and I'm hoping for a good day.''
In a meet last week in Tennessee, the 2002 Morningside grad and Division II national champ, uncorked a throw of 254-3.
"The Olympic Trials are in Eugene, Ore., and I'm going out there for a meet real soon, but making the U.S. team for Beijing is what I'm shooting for. I hope some of the guys throwing with me today can benefit from the competition.''
The afternoon hammer throw event is scheduled for 2:15.
The 44th running of the two-day track and field extravaganza starts with collegiate competition today and combines the colleges with the high school competitors during a day-long Saturday session.
Morningside Coach Dave Nash is counting on a strong showing from his athletes, especially high jumper Ryan Gass. The freshman from Valentine, Neb., has already soared 6-10 and is the reigning Great Plains Athletic Conference indoor champ, clearing 6-8.
Also, Brad South has a best of 205 feet in the javelin and the Mustang 4x800 relay could challenge for a gold medal.
Wayne State won the 4x800 last year, but the anchor, Ben Jansen, won't be competing this weekend.
Jansen, who also won the open 400 and 800 last year, is one of four Wildcat athletes Coach Marlon Brink has competing this weekend in California meets at Azusa Pacific and Long Beach State.
Several former local prep standouts now attending Iowa State will also compete unattached.
Heading the list is sophomore Josh Lewis, a West High graduate who won the Drake Relays prep 3,200 as a senior. Lewis is entered in the 800 and 1,500, where Dakota State's Anthony Drealan is back to defend his title.
Also, ISU junior Ryan Willams, a Sioux City North graduate who spent two seasons at Wayne State before transferring last spring, is entered in the 400 and 800. The standout middle distance runner clocked a 1:52.5 in the 800 indoors earlier this spring and has run 1:56.0 outdoors.
Another North graduate, Molly Lohry, will run in the women's 800 along with Hinton grad Kaylee Small, who was 13th in the Big 12 Conference indoor 800 in 2007.
Both men's hurdles races should be dandies, shaping up as a duel between South Dakota intercollegiate record-holders Jake Hamik of Northern State and Terry Liggins from USD.
Hamik, the Relays most valuable men's college performer two years ago when he won the 400-meter intermediates and the open 400, claimed titles in the 110-meter highs and the intermediates last year.
In the NCAA Division II nationals last spring, Hamik set the South Dakota intercollegiate mark with a third-place finish in 50.92 seconds. He won the event at Olsen Stadium last year in 52.42 seconds.
Liggins owns the South Dakota collegiate mark of 13.82 seconds in the high hurdles. Monday, in Wayne State's Sunshine Invitational, he won the highs in :14.47 and the intermediates in :54.37.
South Dakota has 28 athletes competing this weekend in California, but more than 30 Coyotes are entered in the Relays.
The list includes premier distance ace Ramsay Kavan, who is entered in the women's 3,000 steeplechase. Kavan, a nationally-ranked prep standout at Yankton, S.D., spent her freshman year at Notre Dame before transferring.
Kavan, a sophomore, and Dordt senior Jen Kempers are expected to wage quite a duel in the steeplechase. The versatile Kempers has run 10:54 in the steeplechase and Kavan 11:03.
Last year's most valuable men's college performer, Eric Bertelsen of Buena Vista, is entered in the long jump, 100 and 400 and will probably run on at least one relay crew.
He won the long jump, but finished second to Wayne State's Tim Pilakowski in a blanket finish in the 100. Pilakowski is also back.
Last year's outstanding college female performer, Jasmine Mosley of South Dakota, is also competing in California and won't be back to defend her shot put crown.
This year, the college field will be without athletes from Northwestern College. The Orange City collegians will run instead at the Doane Relays in Crete, Neb.
Today, on the first day of the 2008 Sioux City Relays, America's No. 1-ranked hammer thrower, Morningside graduate A.G. Kruger, will continue his quest for a berth on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.
The Sheldon native was a member of the U.S. hammer contingent in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Last year, Kruger returned to Sioux City and established a Relays and Olsen Stadium record with a throw of 253 feet, seven feet shy of his personal best toss.
Kruger now lives and trains in Ashland, Ohio, under the supervision of Ashland University track coach Jud Logan, who also runs the Ashland Elite club that specializes in training hammer throwers like Kruger.
Wayne State hammer thrower Brett Suckstorf knows all about Kruger and Ashland. And, Kruger is familiar with Suckstoff's throws coach at Wayne, Josh Whisman, a standout thrower at Tennessee who is in his second year as a Wayne grad assistant.
"I had the privilege of throwing against A.G. in the Sioux City Relays last year and he's so far out of my league right now,'' says Suckstorff, whose personal best of 186 feet, 6 inches this spring in comparable to what Kruger accomplished when he was a junior at Morningside.
"A.G.'s speed in the ring is ungodly, but I'm really new to this event. I'm 6-3 and 220 pounds, but when I came to Wayne I was 6-3 and 160 pounds and asked the coaches if I could be part of the team.''
"My goal this year is to meet the Division II qualifying standard of 191 feet, but Coach Whisman feels 200 (feet) is realistic for this season.
"The best guy in Division II right now is from Ashland, Rob Klenk. He's got a throw of just over 210 feet this spring, so my work is cut out for me.''
Kruger works with Klenk and another Ashland athlete who has thrown 195 feet this spring, Mike Jeffery.
"I know those Ashland kids very well,'' said the 29-year-old Kruger, who is spending the weekend at his parents home in Sheldon before departing Saturday to compete on Sunday in the Mt. Sac Relays near Los Angeles. "The facility in Sioux City is outstanding and I'm hoping for a good day.''
In a meet last week in Tennessee, the 2002 Morningside grad and Division II national champ, uncorked a throw of 254-3.
"The Olympic Trials are in Eugene, Ore., and I'm going out there for a meet real soon, but making the U.S. team for Beijing is what I'm shooting for. I hope some of the guys throwing with me today can benefit from the competition.''
The afternoon hammer throw event is scheduled for 2:15.
The 44th running of the two-day track and field extravaganza starts with collegiate competition today and combines the colleges with the high school competitors during a day-long Saturday session.
Morningside Coach Dave Nash is counting on a strong showing from his athletes, especially high jumper Ryan Gass. The freshman from Valentine, Neb., has already soared 6-10 and is the reigning Great Plains Athletic Conference indoor champ, clearing 6-8.
Also, Brad South has a best of 205 feet in the javelin and the Mustang 4x800 relay could challenge for a gold medal.
Wayne State won the 4x800 last year, but the anchor, Ben Jansen, won't be competing this weekend.
Jansen, who also won the open 400 and 800 last year, is one of four Wildcat athletes Coach Marlon Brink has competing this weekend in California meets at Azusa Pacific and Long Beach State.
Several former local prep standouts now attending Iowa State will also compete unattached.
Heading the list is sophomore Josh Lewis, a West High graduate who won the Drake Relays prep 3,200 as a senior. Lewis is entered in the 800 and 1,500, where Dakota State's Anthony Drealan is back to defend his title.
Also, ISU junior Ryan Willams, a Sioux City North graduate who spent two seasons at Wayne State before transferring last spring, is entered in the 400 and 800. The standout middle distance runner clocked a 1:52.5 in the 800 indoors earlier this spring and has run 1:56.0 outdoors.
Another North graduate, Molly Lohry, will run in the women's 800 along with Hinton grad Kaylee Small, who was 13th in the Big 12 Conference indoor 800 in 2007.
Both men's hurdles races should be dandies, shaping up as a duel between South Dakota intercollegiate record-holders Jake Hamik of Northern State and Terry Liggins from USD.
Hamik, the Relays most valuable men's college performer two years ago when he won the 400-meter intermediates and the open 400, claimed titles in the 110-meter highs and the intermediates last year.
In the NCAA Division II nationals last spring, Hamik set the South Dakota intercollegiate mark with a third-place finish in 50.92 seconds. He won the event at Olsen Stadium last year in 52.42 seconds.
Liggins owns the South Dakota collegiate mark of 13.82 seconds in the high hurdles. Monday, in Wayne State's Sunshine Invitational, he won the highs in :14.47 and the intermediates in :54.37.
South Dakota has 28 athletes competing this weekend in California, but more than 30 Coyotes are entered in the Relays.
The list includes premier distance ace Ramsay Kavan, who is entered in the women's 3,000 steeplechase. Kavan, a nationally-ranked prep standout at Yankton, S.D., spent her freshman year at Notre Dame before transferring.
Kavan, a sophomore, and Dordt senior Jen Kempers are expected to wage quite a duel in the steeplechase. The versatile Kempers has run 10:54 in the steeplechase and Kavan 11:03.
Last year's most valuable men's college performer, Eric Bertelsen of Buena Vista, is entered in the long jump, 100 and 400 and will probably run on at least one relay crew.
He won the long jump, but finished second to Wayne State's Tim Pilakowski in a blanket finish in the 100. Pilakowski is also back.
Last year's outstanding college female performer, Jasmine Mosley of South Dakota, is also competing in California and won't be back to defend her shot put crown.
This year, the college field will be without athletes from Northwestern College. The Orange City collegians will run instead at the Doane Relays in Crete, Neb.
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