With 1 record down, Ryan Crouser shifts to others

Most people know him as one of the top high school shot put and discus throwers in the U.S. But did you know that Ryan Crouser:

- Used to be a sprinter and jumper?
- Is in line to be his class valedictorian?
- Was a standout basketball player before breaking his foot?
- Prefers to sleep in until at least 11 a.m. on meet days?
- Routinely drinks 64 ounces of orange juice the morning of meets (his personal record is 64 ounces in 45 minutes)?
- And that after big meets, Ryan knows his dad, Mitch, will provide him with a "terrible" meal?

"It's not planned or anything like that. It just seems that we always end up with a lousy meal," said Ryan. "We just always end up with terrible food. When I won nationals as a sophomore, I ended up with a day-old sandwich that had been sat on and smashed in the car. The next day, I won the discus and we ended up in a weird place and had a horrible dinner."

That being the case, Ryan and Mitch might have had one of their worst meals ever following Ryan's colossal record-setting throws at the 33rd Simplot Games last weekend. Ryan not only broke Brent Noon's 21-year-old U.S. Indoor record of 74 feet, 11 inches, but he broke it three times within his six throws at the competition. And on his final throw, he obliterated the record by reaching 77-2.75.



"It was great," Ryan said of his record. "The crowd (between 3,000 and 4,000) really got into it. It got pretty loud. They all went crazy (when he broke his own record)."

It marked only the second time in the history of the event that a U.S. prep had tossed a 12-pound shot put more than 77 feet. The other is U.S. Outdoor record holder Michael Carter, who in a June meet in 1979, reached 81-3.

Ryan, a senior at Barlow (Gresham, Ore.), said he had one goal in mind for Simplot, his final indoor track meet of the season: break Noon's indoor record. Two days before the meet, the 6-7, 240-pound Ryan said he felt confident the record would fall in Pocatello, Idaho.

"I've been training hard and putting in a lot of time on my technique and it feels like things are coming together," said Ryan, who will attend the University of Texas in the fall. "It was my last indoor meet of the season and I wanted the indoor record. It's one of my two major goals this year."

The other? Carter's outdoor mark.

GOOD START IN 2011
Despite passing on next month's Indoor Nationals in New York, Ryan's abbreviated indoor season - only three meets - is likely to rank among track and field's greatest indoor seasons, albeit short by most standards.



Earlier this year, in a meet held at Boise State, Ryan shattered the U.S. prep indoor record by throwing a 16-pound shot 63-11. The previous record of 60-7 1/4 was set in 1984 by Arnold Campbell of Bossier City, La. It was Ryan's first meet - indoor or outdoor - since breaking the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot last May.

That was followed by the Husky Invitational at the University of Washington where he put the shot 74-5, just six inches behind Noon's former mark.

So, in less than a month, Ryan has gained distance and headline after headline. Regardless of his many past victories, a 3-foot improvement is monumental. Ryan credits a lot of the improvement to three things brought on by the foot injury and his May 20 surgery that required implanting a 2-plus inch metal screw into his foot.

"I had a stress fracture for a couple of weeks, but kept training," Ryan said. "I was turning and throwing in practice and bone snapped. I didn't hear it, but knew instantly with my back-in drive it was hurt. I mean there was around 400 pounds force driving forward ... my whole side of my foot collapsed and all the energy was released."

It took more than two weeks for the swelling to subside enough for surgery. What followed was pain, fear, boredom and a silver lining.

First, his renewed appreciation of the sport. He missed the Oregon State meet, the entire summer season and wasn't cleared to begin workouts until fall.



"I think not being able to compete (from May until January) made me work harder and focus harder when I was allowed to start training," said Ryan. "I had to realize it would take time before I could develop again. It was important to learn that it (track) will eventually end. So, I think I came back better mentally prepared."

Second, not being able to do any leg work, he worked on his upper body strength. His weightlifting workouts were forced to upper body only.

"My upper body is stronger than last year and my weight is up about 20 pounds (to 240)," said Ryan. "I've never been one of the stronger guys out there, but my bench and cleans are up to 300 and my squats are are in the upper 300 range."

Third, his appreciation for the sport has never been greater.

"It gave me a greater appreciation as to why I compete. It was hard, sitting there and watching my teammates and not being able to do anything. I learned from that," he said. "I really enjoy the competition within. It's a direct measurement of how I am today versus how I was yesterday. Being able to prove I am better today than yesterday is important. No one else's fault if you lost, but if you win, it's because you put in the hard work."

It did delay Ryan's development with the spin technique in throwing the shot put. With no lower body work during summer, fall or early winter, timing was a struggle. Ryan is the first to admit he's still a bit uncomfortable with it, but it is a work in progress.



"I mean I didn't want it (the injury) to happen, but I think I came away with it as good as I could have," he said. "So, actually, I think I am better because of the injury."

His three meets this year certainly attest to that. But he is quick to point out that there is a lot of hard work ahead.

The other silver lining is that while the Barlow High School basketball team would love to have Ryan's 6-7 frame roaming the low post, the foot injury meant no basketball and more time to rehab, as well as focus on track.

"I really enjoy basketball and did pretty good. I was sixth man as a sophomore, then starter as a junior and we made playoffs both years, but jumping is out this year."

FAMILY HISTORY WELL DOCUMENTED
This Crouser family is known as America's premiere throwing family. It's a pedigree that started with Ryan's grandfather, Larry, back in the early 1950s when he threw the javelin 220 feet for the U.S. Army. Larry's sons - Mitch, Brian and Dean - were among the best throwers in the world during the 1980s and early 90s and good enough to be featured by Sports Illustrated in 1983.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}Ryan's dad, Mitch, spent two years at the University of Idaho, was a 220-foot discus thrower and placed fourth at the 1984 Olympic Trials. He still ranks high in Idaho record books.



Uncle Dean was a three-time NCAA champion at Oregon in the shot put and discus and still holds the school records in both events.

Uncle Brian once held the world javelin record and competed in a pair of Olympic Games (1988 and 1992).

Cousin Sam swept the Oregon's 2010 6A titles in the shot put, discus and javelin, becoming the first thrower to win all three events at the highest classification since his uncle, Brian, did it. Sam is a freshman at the University of Oregon and national prep record holder in the javelin (255-4). He was the Gatorade National Track Athlete of the Year in 2010.

Not to be overlooked is cousin Haley (Sam's sister), who at last May's 6A State meet won the javelin as a freshman. The Oregon 6A record of 176-5 could be in reach this year.

And there a few other younger cousins waiting to add their names to the family's throwing tree.

But Ryan says that despite the family history, he was never pushed into track. It just came naturally, he says.



In his early track days, Ryan sprinted, long and triple jumped - with success. He was a Junior Olympics winner in the triple jump reaching the low 40s as a freshman.

"I never did any distance events, though, I'll leave that to my younger brother, Matt," said Ryan. Matt runs distances for the Barlow High School team.

But when he started throwing, it didn't take long to realize sprinting and jumping would soon be a thing of the past. He was a state champion in both the discus and shot put as a freshman and sophomore and finished second to cousin Sam in the javelin.

The foot injury kept him from a showdown with Sam at last year's state meet and Sam won three events. Prior that, however, the cousins often went head to head during the high school season, Ryan for Barlow and Sam for crosstown rival Gresham. Sam has won the battle in javelin, while Ryan dominated the rivalry in the shot put and discus.

The cousins likely will meet as opponents in college, Ryan at Texas and Sam at Oregon.

TEXAS OVER OREGON WAS ACADEMIC
Ryan says as much as he loved Oregon and the family history there and at Hayward Field, where he, his dad, cousins and uncles all have claimed many victories and set numerous records, choosing the Longhorns over the Ducks came down to academics.



"Oregon doesn't have an engineering department and Texas is ranked the seventh best in the country," said Ryan. "Plus, they have a great group of throwers and I really got along well with their throwing coach Mario Sategna."

Ryan admits the dampness of the Northwest hampers training, but said the cloudy skies of Eugene versus the sunny skies of Austin had little to do with his decision, but pointed out that Sategna sent him a picture recently of UT's blue sky and mid-70 weather.

"I'd just come in from training ... it was cold and wet and here's the photo from warm and sunny Austin. I'm looking forward to the experience there and a very different work regiment. Unlike now where I have no one to push me, I'll have a lot of throwers there to push me. I'm looking forward to that challenge."

Ryan said he is likely to compete in UT's indoor season, but is hoping to redshirt for the outdoor season. He pointed out that he wants the fifth year summer season as it coincides with the 2016 Olympics.

"But I chose Texas mostly because of the academics ... the competition is the bonus," he said. Ryan also had offers from UCLA, Arizona State and Stanford.

While he knows what direction his track future will take him, he hasn't decided between studying mechanical or petroleum engineering. His minor will be business.



A TYPICAL WORKOUT WEEK
Ryan's workouts are planned by his dad. It might best be said: Don't try these at home ... let the experts do them.

He lifts heavy weights three to four times each week. He throws the shot three to four times each week and throws the discus at least once. On the days that he throws light, he will throw maybe 10-12 times. On heavy days, however, he is throwing the 12-pound shot 30-40 times each workout.

He usually takes only one day a week off (Sundays) from any type of workout and picks another day during the week to go light.

And he has no trouble finding alternate weights to throw. The family's history has amassed 25-30 shot puts in the Crouser family garage - that's Mitch Crouser's family garage. Dean and Brian have their own collection of weights.

"Yeah, we've got just about every weight class there is from 4.4 pounds to 16 pounds," said Ryan, who noted the hardest part of track is working out by himself.

"As much as I love track, the hardest part is doing it yourself ... at times it's tough to keep myself going," said Ryan. "Working out 2-3 hours a day, six days week is tough to do, tough to stay motivated."



But he loves it. He loves the people involved in track. And he's quick to praise his dad for keeping him on the right path and teaching him that technique is key, moreso than strength.

"He focuses a lot on health and conditioning, too," said Ryan. "We know how injuries can set you back, so staying healthy is vital. You go down for a month, you need another month of training just to get you back where you were. So, it's important to do things right the first time."

Mitch and Dean own the appropriately named Elite Athlete, a business that provides top quality nutrition for elite athletes.

THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE
With his three-meet indoor season completed, Ryan turns his training to the outdoor season and the spring high school season.

He thinks his Barlow High School team has a chance to do very well at the Oregon 6A meet in May. He praises teammates and his coaches, and in particular head coach Dave Killian.

"He has great enthusiasm. He's a young coach and really knows how to motivate and recruit," said Ryan, who expects the Barlow boys and girls track and field team to feature as many as 140 student athletes.



During the prep season, he is likely to focus on the shot and discus and might throw the javelin if needed.

"It (javelin) is kind of a mystery to me. I haven't thrown it since I was a sophomore, but went over 200 feet," said Ryan. "I never practice it, though it is my best natural event ... it's kind of funny that I don't throw it."

Following the prep season will likely be the Junior Pan American Games where his goal is to win gold in the shot and discus.

Though confident, Ryan is very well aware that he isn't alone in setting goals high. He has high praise for Nick Vena (Morristown, N.J.). Vena, a 275-pounder headed for Virginia, has put the shot longer than 70 feet more than 40 times and has a best of 72-10. The latter is three feet better than Ryan's outdoor best of 69-8, a mark that might need an asterisk due to Ryan's foot injury.

"I've got a lot of work ahead me, but am looking forward to it," said Ryan. It's that love of the sport ... measuring what he did today to yesterday and answering only to himself for his effort.

That said, Vena has yet to reach 73 feet and Ryan has done so a half-dozen times - all in 2011.



While Ryan has focused on the shot for the indoor season, he will add the discus to his target list when the outdoor season gets underway next month.

Ryan's first major outdoor event is expected to be at the Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational (April 8-9), where cousin Sam earned Top Male Athlete honors at last year's Arcadia Meet. Ryan is expected to challenge Mason Finley's national discus record of 236-6.

Ryan's meet best in the discus was 202-6, and he was the first athlete in Oregon to surpass 200 feet. Ryan's best in practice is 220, coming on the day he broke his left foot.

"I've been focusing on the shot, but when the weather gets better and I get some time outdoors, I'll put more focus into discus training as well as the shot," said Ryan.

In the meantime, more lifts, more training and more focus on technique.

As for sleeping in on meet days, it doesn't appear to be an issue.



"I can compete well early, but I just prefer sleeping in late, especially on the day of big meets," said Ryan.

That being the case, no alarm clock is necessary as Ryan sets his sights on Carter's 81-3.