Yesterday we covered the Division III women and today it's the Division III men. Once again, this preview was written by Division III weight throw record holder Kevin Becker. To learn more about Kevin, read this feature we wrote about him.
2010 Division III Men’s Weight Throw Preview
by Kevin Becker
As the indoor season approaches, there is much speculation as to who will be at the top of D3 in the men’s weight this year. With 5 returning All-Americans there should be a lot of familiar faces at the 2010 national meet. However, with no clear favorite at the moment it should be a very interesting year of competition to see who will end up with the national title. It will likely come down to who can throw 19-19.50m on the day. As far as depth is concerned, there are several returners well over the provisional mark so look for the cutoff to get into nationals to be a bit higher than last year. Here is some info on some of this year’s top contenders:
Eric Jones, Senior, St. Lawrence University- Personal Best: 18.94m (2008), 2009 NCAA Finish: 2nd
Jones is clearly one of the top contenders for a national title this year. He has entered the previous two national championships ranked 2nd, and after a disappointing 10th in 2008, he came back and placed 2nd in 2009. As a senior, Jones is certainly hoping to finally take home his first national title. He has the top personal best of all returners, but there are others not far behind. Jones opened his season on December 12th with a throw of 17.86m shortly after finishing up a football season in which he was his team’s second leading rusher.
Bryan Kolacz, Junior, Keene State College- Personal Best: 18.50m (2009), 2009 NCAA Finish: ND
After a disappointing 3 foul at the 2009 indoor nationals, Kolacz is certainly hungry to come back and fight for a title. Entering the meet third last year, he comes back with the number two personal best of all returners. The other thing he has going for him is the national title he earned in the hammer last May. He threw an impressive 61.48m to win as a sophomore. If that success can carry over into the weight throw this season he is clearly a major contender for a national title. He also started his season in December and opened with a national leading 18.06m.
Ray Lund, Junior, Brockport SUNY- Personal Best: 17.97m (2009), 2009 NCAA Finish: 3rd
Lund showed a strong national meet presence in 2009 entering the meet 5th and throwing a personal best on his first throw to finish 3rd. He has also opened up the season in December not far off his personal best at 17.50m. If Lund makes his way into the mid to upper 18 meter range there could be a very interesting 3 way battle for the national title.
Tom Sroka, Senior, Aurora University- Personal Best: 17.43m, 2009 NCAA Finish: 5th
As a senior returning All-American, look for Sroka to try to move a few spots higher at this year’s national meet. If he can move up over the 18 meter mark he has the chance to finish in the top few spots.
Darien West, Junior, Illinois Wesleyan University- Personal Best: 17.23m, 2009 NCAA Finish: 6th
After finishing 6th and earning his first All American Award last year, West looks to move up into the top few spots. If he can continue to progress technically, his strength will allow him to throw in the 18m+ range.
Jerry Prusinski, Junior, UW-Stevens Point- Personal Best: 17.21m, 2009 NCAA Finish: 7th
Prusinski came on strong at the end of the season and earned his first All American Award last year and will be trying to repeat and end up a bit higher.
Shaun Davis, Senior, UW-Whitewater- Personal Best: 16.90m, 2009 NCAA Finish: Did not qualify
Davis missed qualifying for the 2009 meet, but he came on strong and placed second in the hammer in the 2009 outdoor season. If he can transfer his hammer success to the indoor event, look for him to be a contender for some points this year.
Andrew Stephany, Junior, UW-Oshkosh- Personal Best: 17.43m, 2009 NCAA Finish: 10th
After narrowly missing the final at last year’s championships, Stephany will be back working to land in the top 8 this year.
Ben Ludtke, Sophomore, UW-Oshkosh- Personal Best: 17.29m, 2009 NCAA Finish: 12th
With a strong freshman season, Ludtke qualified for nationals, but missed the final. As a sophomore, he’ll be back and looking for some points.
Jarrett Arredondo, Senior, Worcester Poly Institute- Personal Best: 17.36m, 2009 NCAA Finish: Did not qualify
Also missing the 2009 Championships, Arredondo is back with a big PR this December. If he continues to progress over the season, he also will be in contention for some points in March.
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