I have always known my ranking and i have most of the names above me memorized so when alex wolff came over and showed me the entries for the oregon twilight meet the week before the meet started i noticed i was ranked 9th in the meet. i was surprised. after oregon relays coach told me it was just going to be me in the meet and that everyone else was getting ready for conference and that i would be a shoe in for the win. but no there were guys that threw 252 and 245 a few more in the 240s and 230s the meet was stacked.

the meet being stacked didnt worry me too much. when people say i cant do something i normally try and prove them wrong. earlier this year scott our physical trainer laughed at me when i said i wanted to make olympic trials, i have been trying to prove him wrong all year. so when i saw that i was 9th in the meet of 13 ppl i was hoping to make a big upset PR big and go home in the top 5. litterally i wanted 5th place.

practice was up and down but i was still confident going into the meet. things i look for in a meet are: good weather, along with good wind, good track (hayward is amazing), good javelin (we dont own one but i always borrow other peoples javelins), good week of practice, and GOOD competition! competition pushes you to have to throw farther, coming in the clutch. if there is no one within 30-60 ft of you (like in my league) then there is no reason, no driving force to push you to throw further. i mean u always want to but its like a dog is chasing after you.... well u r naturally going to have adrenaline and going to run a hell of a lot faster. and for me i had all these guys that were better than me and i wanted to show them up.

the meet came around and it was perfect. just a few light clouds, a real light headwind, about 67 degrees and i was ready to go. i told alex wolff i was going to PR and i was going to pop one.

i went to the trainers to get my big toe taped up and i got a reality check. i see doug lefler getting his arm heated up. the guy was a beast. like 6'5" 230 lbs of solid muscle and my confidence kinda went down after seeing that. but none the less i went into game face mode and got really quiet and got myself ready.

we warmed up and my warm up throws were looking pretty good out on the field. and when they opened up the track for warm ups my 4steps and half approaches were right around 200. so i was happy about that. people were looking at me. i felt like the smallest kid in the park and i am 6'2" 195lbs. and some of the guys asked me where Lane was (they ready my sweatshirt) i paused for a second and knew how funny it was, and said 30th street, and pointed south to where Lane Community College was. they all had a good laugh. and said man take 2 throws and you are there. i knew i was the instant underdog to them coming from a community college.

she put us in order. a few changes happened since i had seen the entries a week ago and turned out i was only ranked 8th after someone dropped out. i was 4th thrower because i was 4th worst thrower in our group of 12. but at least i wasnt in the B section this week (there was no B section). we got a quick prayer thanking God for the ability he gave us, to stay healthy and throwing far.

i found a javelin i liked a stiff one 90 meter carbon fiber javelin. i had no idea who to ask if i could borrow it (turned out it was eric browns the #1 ranked guy at 252'). i got up and i always pray before each throw. bow my head and ask him for the strength to throw far. and i ran into it and poppeed on. it was out there. i knew it was a PR and Cody my coach over at the shot put new it was a PR. he was right there looking to see what the tape measure would say. it was 228' a 7ft PR. i was super happy smiling from ear to ear.n i looked to the stands to see if my team mates noticed and see if they had my support but it looked like they were too distracted by the other events. i got so many congratulations from all the competitors. they were happy for me knowing that it was a PR for me. i looked at alex and shook his hand and told him i still need that 70 meter mark (its 229'8" its also qualifying for B standard of the olympic trials) i was always shooting for a bigger and better mark.

second throw came up and i was in 2nd place some guy had thrown 233'1" i got up and had my quick prayer and just as i got ready i said to God... i love you. and i was off! it felt great. and looked great. i knew it was a further throw. i was right there at the tape measure with cody and i saw the tape measure past 71meters. and i was going nuts inside. officially it was 71.19 meters (233'7") i was in the lead and i was from a community college. i was going nuts i had a good scream and looked to the stands but i didnt see any of my team mates that were cheering me on. it looked like it was just me and God today. i got even more high fives and good jobs from everyone around me. and i thanked god so much for helping me do it.

3rd throw was up and i was still in first. i knew with my lack of practice this year that my arm/elbow doesnt have a lot of stamina to throw extra innings (take all 6 of my throws. i would be lucky to get 4) my achillies tendon was hurting from my block leg and i new if i wanted to go further it was now or never.

i gave a quick scream to pump myself up and ran hard into the approach a little extra speed can go a long way. i blocked and threw and it was pretty good didnt look like a new PR but ther was a shadow of one of the stadium light posts that i was shooting to throw over (it was about 230) and i was right there at that shadow over and over again. it was about 230 ft. i was happy it made me realize that it was a fluke it wasnt just one good throw and i was a no body. i was actually consistantly hitting around 230 ft.

a lady i recognized but couldnt put my finger on it said that if i would have done a few things differently on that throw that it would have been a 240 instead of a 230. i later found out she was a weber state university coach of mine (she never actually came to practice because she had too many classes to teach) but i highly respected her and i was happy to hear that from her.

my achilles hurt a lot! but my elbow could go at least 2 to 3 more throws. i was ranked 1st going into finals. i was so happy. a community college kid beating out some huge D1 and professional athletes. a lot of the guys ahead of me had already graduated and are throwing for clubs (kinda like team XO) and are considered professional athletes.

they re ordered the throws and i was last thrower because i had the best throw. a series of guys went and threw and finally bobby smith. a shorter but super stocky guy gets up. he was fired up and he popped on it was far. and it looked like it would take first. and it did. 236'6" he was 3 ft ahead of me.

i said one more throw and i am done. i have already PRed by 13 ft even if i dont win i am still super happy. and i consider it a win in my book. i get up and go for it. i hit it hard but i can tell from the start that it wont take first. i limp off because i cant feel my achillies in my left foot and i put on my tennis shoes. i was done. the throw was 223' which would have been a PR if it wasnt for me throwing further than that 3 other times today. my series was 228'5" - 233'7" - 230'4" - 222'4" all of those throws would have been PRs for me. it was an amazing day.

i had quit but the meet went on. i didnt care tho. i was so happy to throw 233'7". i never knew it but in finals some other guy (doug lefler) threw 237'4" and won it. i not only didnt win but i only got 3rd place. but i was a lot better than 8th and it was a lot better than the 5th place i was hoping for.

i hear from my team mates and they some how all knew about my throw. i never saw them in the stands and i never knew they even watched. but turns out a lot of them were up higher in the stands where i couldnt see and were going crazy when they saw me throw 233. jumping up and down and they were all so happy for me and i didnt even know it. so they did have my back and i thank them for it too.

with 233'7" that ranks me 32nd in all the nation (over 2007-08) professional athletes and collegiate athletes. that makes me 10th in all of D1 this year. it also qualifies me for the B standard of the Olympic trials. i am really hoping to make trials this year and be in that top 24 competitors that they take into trials. i have one meet left its our big Conference meet on thursday and friday its called NWWAACC Conference (North West Athletic Association of Community Colleges) 2nd place guy is at 203' and 3rd is at 198' so there isnt much competition but i am hoping to get my team mates behind me supporting me and cheering me on for something thats worth more than a NWAACC winner in the javelin i am shooting for 240' ang solidifying my place in the trials.

John 14:13 Jesus said "And I will do whatever you ask in My Name, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father."