Picking my favorite for this year's NCAA Championship for men was quite easy. Walter Henning (LSU) has the season's best mark by a meter, is the defending NCAA champion, is undefeated against good competition, he hasn't shown many weeknesses and the competitors haven't shown they can challenge him. The second best qualifier, Adonson Shallow (SE Lousiana), I don't predict making the finals. His surprise mark last weekend vaulted him to the top of the list, but he has history of inconsistency that makes his chances for a medal slim. But if he has a good day, he could surprise me again. In fact, Track and Field News predicts him to be the runner-up.

I have Alexander Ziegler (Virginia Tech) in second place. Ziegler placed third last year and has personal best of 22.51m. While he has been under that this season, his average throws are still ahead of everyone but Henning. Michael Lauro (LSU) is the only other thrower to average over 21 meters this season, however his results tend to be overshadowed by his teammate Henning. He has also racked up some good wins against fellow NCAA competitors.

Micah Hegerle (Minnesota) has the third best mark entering the meet and perhaps is the hottest of the throwers with his last two meets results being 21.73m and 21.30. He dominated a great field at the Big 10 Championships and should have a good showing at NCAAs. The rest of the finalists are so close that a few coin flips might predict their order of finish better. J.C. Lambert (Southern Illinois), K.P. Singh (Oklahoma), and Mike Zajac (South Carolina) all have shown they can consistently throw near 21 meters. Marcel Lomnicky (Virginia Tech) is a former NCAA hammer champion and can never be counted out at a big competition.

Click here for complete entry lists.

Men Weight Throw Predictions
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     Name                        Year School            Seed Mark
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  1  Walter Henning                SR LSU                  23.32m
       Performance List: 1st   Average 2011 Result: 22.48m
       Win-Loss versus NCAA Competitors: 6-0
  2  Alexander Ziegler             SO Virginia Tech        21.54m
       Performance List: 6th   Average 2011 Result: 21.42m
       Win-Loss versus NCAA Competitors: 3-0
  3  Michael Lauro                 JR LSU                  21.51m
       Performance List: 7th   Average 2011 Result: 21.13m
       Win-Loss versus NCAA Competitors: 2-4
  4  Micah Hegerle                 SO Minnesota            21.73m
       Performance List: 3rd   Average 2011 Result: 20.66m
       Win-Loss versus NCAA Competitors: 3-0
  5  J.C. Lambert                  JR So. Illinois         21.58m
       Performance List: 4th   Average 2011 Result: 20.65m
       Win-Loss versus NCAA Competitors: 4-0
  6  Marcel Lomnicky               JR Virginia Tech        21.03m
       Performance List: 11th   Average 2011 Result: 20.58m
       Win-Loss versus NCAA Competitors: 0-3
  7  KP Singh                      SR Oklahoma             21.55m
       Performance List: 5th   Average 2011 Result: 20.80m
       Win-Loss versus NCAA Competitors: 0-1
  8  Mike Zajac                    SR South Carolina       21.27m
       Performance List: 8th   Average 2011 Result: 20.85m
       Win-Loss versus NCAA Competitors: 1-4

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