The Simplot Games in Pocatello, Idaho, is considered one of the premiere high school indoor track and field meets in the country. It would be hard to argue that claim as the 33rd edition of the games didn't let anyone down.
Games publicist Spencer Ward said "athletes achieve greatness here" and the games "are a place where excitement is at level 10."
That said, Ryan Crouser from
Gresham (Ore.), indeed achieved greatness and at the same time might have taken the "excitement level" at Idaho State University's Holt Arena well beyond 10 when he not only obliterated the Simplot Games meet record with a throw of 72 feet, 1 inch, but his second toss claimed the National Indoor record at 75-3
½.
Read Dave Krider's story on Ryan CrouserCrouser, however, didn't stop there as he exploded for a 77-2
3/4 throw – the second best prep throw ever – indoors or out. Crouser also had a toss of 75-10.
"I felt really solid this last week of practice," Crouser said. "After I threw over 75 feet, I had nothing holding me back so I went all out."
Both of Crouser's records were previously held by Brent Noon (Fallbrook, Calif.). The former National Indoor mark was 74-11, while the Simplot Games mark was 67-10. The U.S. National Outdoor record is held by Texan Michael Carter at 81-3 (1979).
"The shot put area was electric when Crouser took the circle each time," said Ward. "The crowd and athletes were both expecting greatness with each throw; and they got just that."
Crouser said he would have been happy with his second throw (first record), but when he broke his own record on his fifth throw, even he was amazed.
"It was great," he said of his new record. "The crowd really got into it. It got pretty loud. They all went crazy."
Carter and Crouser are the lone high school athletes to surpass 77 feet.
Another perspective as to how impressive Crouser's throws were, second-place finisher Ben Glauser, representing Throw1Deep from Marietta, Ga., was more than 10 feet behind at 66-8.5. Glauser has a best of 70-4 this season. Third place went to Tyler Schultz of Custer, S.D. with a throw of 58-4.25.
Prior to the meet, Crouser said the Simplot Games would be his final indoor competition of the season, thus passing on the Indoor Nationals in New York next month.
Crouser wasn't alone in setting a Simplot Games record as Shelby Ashe from Marietta, Ga., (competing for club Throw1Deep), claimed gold in the girls weight throw with a throw of 64-9.75, surpassing her own mark of 60-5 set last year.
And Hannah Cunliffe, a freshman from Federal Way, Wash., broke the freshman class record with a time of 7.47 (record was 7.49) while finishing second in the girls' 60 meters. UCLA-bound Kylie Price (West Covina, Calif.) won the event in 7.45. The meet record is 7.19.
"My goal is to win and not to focus on time," said Cunliffe.
Sundrae Farquharson, a junior for Medgar Evers Track Club from New York City, won the girls 400 meters with a time of 54.45 seconds - the best U.S. 400-meter mark this year.
Ryan Scott, a senior from Salt Lake City, won gold in the boys high jump with a jump of 6-9, outdueling pre-meet favorite Gunnar Nixon. However, Scott was unhappy with his winning height despite edging Nixon, the defending prep pentathlon champion.
"It was a bittersweet win," Scott says. "I'd rather jump 6-11 and take second than take first with a lower mark, but a win is a win."
Nixon, a native of Edmond, Okla., certainly made an impression with a gold and a pair of silver performances. He captured the long jump at 23-3.25 and took second in the 60 hurdles with a time of 7.92. Despite tweaking his ankle during the high jump finals, Nixon also finished second with a height of 6-9. The meet record is 7-2.25.
"I was struggling to hit the board in the long jump," Nixon said. "I changed my steps and couldn't find my rhythm. I finally got it right on my second-to-last jump."
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