By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Walter Henning's first sport was soccer, which he played for about five years. His next stage included baseball and basketball. He enjoyed gymnastics enough to participate for 10 years. In track he started as a sprinter and hurdler, moved to the shot put and was very successful throwing the javelin before he injured his shoulder.
However, as an eighth grader, his athletic odyssey led him to a rather obscure event - the hammer throw - and his life never has been the same. He was inspired by watching hammer throwers in New York's Empire State Games and at age 13 was bold enough to contact former USA Olympian Marty Engel and ask him to become his private coach.
A string of national records has followed, making the 6-1, 215-pound Henning the greatest hammer thrower in USA high school history. The recent graduate of St. Anthony's (South Huntington, N.Y.) has broken the national indoor record for the 25-pound weight several times, with his current mark standing at 86 feet, 5 « inches.
Late this spring he set the national outdoor record for the 12-pound weight with a brilliant toss of 255 feet, 11 inches. Just last Saturday he broke his own national record for the six-kilogram weight with a heave of 241-05 during the USA Junior Track & Field Championships in Indianapolis.
"I can't express it (how much Engel means to him) in words," Henning says. "The hammer always is going to be part of my life and he's the one who got me started."
Engel says that Henning is "very consistent. He's very quiet, very level-headed. If he sets his mind to do something, he does it or gets close to it. When motivated, he has that extra gear to do things that you don't think he can do. I'd like to see him get in the 260s."
When the North Carolina signee threw 255-11, his throwing partner, Jake Freeman, was present. It was especially significant, because the Rhode Island native, who is eight years older, held the previous national record of 253-2 set in 1999.
Freeman acknowledges, "It's been good to work with him. I think we push each other in practice. Once in awhile I'll see something that Marty doesn't." Henning is quick to point out, "Jake is a great training partner. He has a great eye for stuff and is a great second opinion. He's a lot better than I am."
Though it took a long time to embrace the hammer throw (New York public schools don't have the event), Henning has been around track all of his life because his father, Walter, is the head track coach and an assistant football coach at Farmingdale High. "Since I could throw stuff, I've been going to practice with him," Henning pointed out.
Because he wanted to concentrate on the hammer as a freshman, Henning passed up his area public school, Smithtown, to attend private St. Anthony's, where they, indeed, did have his cherished event. He actually intended to play football, too, but that never materialized because his dad asked, "Do you want to get hurt in football or win a national championship in the hammer?" The answer was obvious.
St. Anthony's coach John McCree, who has tutored several college All-Americans, says the first time he saw young Henning throw, "I watched him do things with the ball way ahead of his years. He was skinny, but his technique and whole entry and skill level blew me away. I said, `Holy mackerel, we've got Barishkinov (Mikhail) here.' I could tell the first couple of weeks that he was going to be the best I ever had.
"He loves the video. He videotapes every performance. Walter studies other throwers. He's a coach. Nobody is harder on him than himself. I usually get big strong kids and teach them. He was exactly the opposite. He has incredible speed. His technique is superior and he's only going to get stronger. A bad day for Walter - other people dream about. He's a gift to a college coach. The sky is the limit to how far he is going to throw it."
Henning explains that he likes to slow down the videos as he dissects "techniques and little things. I consider myself a fast learner. I'm very small for a thrower, so I really need a good technique. I have a really refined technique."
In his first year at St. Anthony's Henning heaved the 25-pound weight 56 feet, 8 _ inches to set a national freshman indoor record. "I was really happy, because I didn't think I was going to be really special at it," he confessed. That spring he smashed the national freshman 12-pound outdoor record with a toss of 193-2.
Henning "really got into it" as a sophomore and began lifting weights for the first time. "It skyrocketed from there," he said.
His junior year was quite remarkable because he broke the national (all classes) indoor record on back-to-back days during the two biggest meets in the country. On Saturday the New York marvel won the Nike Indoor Nationals in Landover, Md., with a record effort of 83-2 «. He then slept for five hours in the car as his parents drove home and on Sunday he won the National Scholastic Indoor Championships at the Armory in Manhattan, N.Y., with a toss of 85-6. He wound up being named national male athlete of the year by track website DyeStat.
Despite his concentration on the hammer, Henning broke the 25-year-old New York state shot put record with an effort of 68-11 _ as a senior. His shot put legend may last as long as the hammer throw efforts, because one day while practicing in the St. Anthony's gym he overshot his target and ripped a three-foot chunk from the corner of the basketball backboard. A small piece still hangs proudly on his wall at home - an eloquent souvenir for someone who doesn't know his own strength.
"He's a spinner," Coach McCree explained. "He over-exaggerated a little too far to the left, which means he did something wrong. Nobody else could have done that (and still gotten such spectacular distance)."
When he's not throwing his weight around, Henning loves listening to country music and coaching younger athletes. He already has turned out champions in several weight events. He carried a B-plus average at St. Anthony's and especially enjoyed English. A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Smithtown, he says, "I couldn't do this if I didn't have God on my side. He keeps me down to earth." After graduating from North Carolina, he hopes to teach and coach.
The personable Henning has the 2008 Olympics "in the back of my mind," but he is pointing more realistically toward 2012. The USA has won only one medal in the hammer since earning gold in 1956. Henning has become a pied piper, bringing some popularity to an almost-forgotten event.
In fact, he can't be blamed for looking over his shoulder because Californian Conor McCullough (West Hills Chaminade) already has smashed his national freshman and sophomore records. The son of an Irish Olympian, McCullough is four inches taller at 6-5 and has a great upside.
Track Notes
* Five national class records were set over the weekend during the star-studded USA Junior Track & Field Championships in Indianapolis. Junior-class records were set by Ryann Krais of Methacton (Norristown, Pa.), 5,377 points in the heptathlon; William Wynne of McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), 49.70 in the 400-meter hurdles, which is No. 2 all-time for all classes; and Chanelle Price of Easton (Pa.), 2:02.38 in the 800-meter run (also No. 3 all-time) while placing seventh in a college-dominated field.
* National sophomore records were established by Jordan Hasay of Mission College Prep (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) in the 1500-meter run (4:16.98) and by Rynell Parson of Stevens (San Antonio, Texas) in the 100-meter dash (10.23).
* Cheyenne Central (Wyoming) star Brendan Ames, who will attend the University of Kentucky, won the 110-meter high hurdles in a blazing 13.15 seconds with wind, but it was the second-fastest prep time ever under any conditions.
Basketball Notes
* USA Red nipped USA Blue, 112-109, in the first-ever overtime game to finish with a 5-0 record and win the championship in the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival at Colorado Springs, Colo. Devin Ebanks, a 6-8 senior-to-be from St. Thomas More (Oakdale, Conn.), led the champs with 35 points. Lance Stephenson, a 6-5 rising junior from Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.), added 22 points. Scotty Hopson, a 6-6 rising senior from University Heights Academy (Hopkinsville, Ky.), scored 35 points for the losers.
USA White (3-2) took third place with a 123-102 rout of winless Brazil. The winners were led by Tyreke Evans, a 6-4 junior from American Christian (Aston, Pa.), who had 34 points and 11 rebounds. Evans, who averaged 29.8 points, had the biggest game of the festival with 43 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists during a first-round loss, 131-128., to USA Red. Greg Monroe added 20 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. The 6-9 rising senior from Helen Cox (Gretna, La.) led the festival in rebounding (12.6) and blocked shots (3.6).
The festival's leading scorer was USA Blue's Delvon Roe, a 6-4 rising senior from St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio), with a glossy 30.3 average. Leading in assists at 8.0 per game was USA Blue's Jrue Holiday, a 6-3 senior guard from Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, Calif.).
* On the recruiting front, Monsignor Pace (Opa Locka, Fla.) rising senior Ray Shipman has made a commitment to the University of Florida. The 6-4 wing averaged 24.8 points and 7.0 rebounds as a junior to lead Pace to the Class 4A state championship and was named state tourney MVP.
* Kemba Walker, a 6-2 senior guard at Rice in New York City, says he will attend the University of Connecticut . Kansas has received a commitment from Travis Releford, a 6-5 guard, who averaged 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 steals as a junior for Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.).
* The University of Louisville continues to stockpile the top rising seniors in Kentucky. Its third and latest commitment is from 6-2 All-State forward Janae Howard, who averaged 17.8 points and 8.6 rebounds as a junior for Owensboro High.
* A three-generation dynasty ended recently when Murray Mendenhall III retired as head boys basketball coach at Wayne High (Fort Wayne, Ind.) The 54-year-old Mendenhall coached for 31 years. His 11-year record as a head coach was 122-116. His father and grandfather both are members of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. His grandfather was the first coach of the Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons, compiled a 418-153 high school record and led Fort Wayne Central to the state title in 1943.
Football Notes
* University of Arizona recruit Alex Zendejas boomed field goals of 55 and 45 yards as the South routed the North, 41-7, in Arizona's annual Class 4A-5A all-star football game. MVP Mike Williams, who will attend Glendale Community College, ran 13 times for 90 yards and three touchdowns.
* Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, Calif.) offensive lineman Tyron Smith, a 6-6, 265-pound rising senior, has committed to attend the University of Southern California.
Potpourri
* Gene Schultz just keeps rolling along at age 61. The head baseball coach at Kee High (Lansing, Iowa) raised his national-record to 1,501 victories with a doubleheader sweep of Clayton Ridge. He has won 11 state titles.
* Wesley Bernard is a mere 12 years old and preparing to enter sixth grade in the fall, but he already has won 13 national age-group wrestling titles. As a fourth grader, he pinned Turkey's national-champion sixth grader. Already 165 pounds, he sometimes competes in the heavyweight division against boys up to 230 pounds. He eventually will wrestle for Perry Meridian High in Indianapolis.
* M1 defeated Texas Advantage, 25-21, 27-25, 27-25, to win the 17-and-under division of the first annual PrepVolleyball.com Classic at the Wisconsin Dells. In the 18-and-under division, First Alliance defeated Club Fusion 18 Black, 25-16, 22-25, 25-11, 25-15.