Two Events = Two National Records at the Nike Indoor Nationals
By Mike Byrnes
Posted Friday, 13 March, 2009
Boston, MA – March 13: The 25th version of the NIKE INDOOR NATIONALS opened with a resounding CRASH! That was the sound of records being broken, both in almost Beamonesque fashion. A young Illinois frosh, LUKAS VERZBICAS, Lincoln Way HS, New Lenox, IL stunned this knowledgeable crowd of about 2000 with an utterly dominating performance as he coasted to a 14:18.43 win breaking the record of 14:22. 63 set earlier in the day. The long striding youngster broke to the front and was never headed going through the mile in 4:29, the 3000m at 8:31 and the two mile in 9:04. His two mile split would rank as the second fastest run this year! But as great as his performance was, it pales in comparison to that of Californian CONOR McCULLOUGH.
He entered the 20’ Weight competition as the overwhelming favorite and established his superiority with his first throw, 87-11.5 breaking his own national mark of 87-10.75 established last year. The runner-up, ALEC FALDERMEYER, Minisink Valley HS, Slate Hill, NY, was philosophical about the event. “I knew he was out of sight so I concentrated on beating the rest of the field.” Good thing. Faldermeyers best toss, 76-05.5 would normally have won the event. Not this year. The tall, rather lanky McCullough stands about 6-04 and weighs in the neighborhood of 225. Watching him warm-up one was impressed with his tremendous vertical leap! The kid has serious hops, somewhere in the 36-42 inch range.
“He’s only been throwing the weight two years,” offered his father, a friendly Irishman (are there any other kind?) who serves as his sons coach. According to the elder McCullough, “I learned a lot from Hal Connelly, he coached me when I competed.” Connelly, a gold medalist from the 1956 Olympics, is considered one of the finest throwing coaches in the world. “My Dad’s the only coach I’ve ever had,” said McCullough. Asked what kind of a coach his Dad was, he hesitated and then replied, “He’s good. He knows when to push and when to back off. He’s terrific technically and we get along great.” McCullough has been training for the event since he was 10 but always under control. His “coach” felt the most important thing was to learn the proper technique and not worry about how far he could throw the implement. “We started with a one pound ball for his hammer training and worked up,” he went on.
Throughout the competition the young McCullough sat alone. Asked what he was thinking as he sat alone, he answered, “All I was thinking about was my technique,” Every throw was utterly devoid of emotion, almost cold and businesslike. He entered the circle, quickly set himself and threw. 87-10.25 – 86-02 - ?? – 86-07 – 85-09 and then…his final attempt.
For the first time he seemed to get into the event emotionally. He went into the ring, stopped and turned towards the front of the circle. He walked forward, took a long look at the landing area and then turned and set himself for the throw. His feet were almost a blur, “I’d slowed too much on my fourth throw and my Dad called me over and reminded me about my speed.” His spin was amazingly quick. He launched the 20 pound ball and the crowd grew silent, but only for a moment. The trajectory of the throw was breathtaking. Everyone knew they were seeing history. The moment the ball landed the crowd erupted, his fellow competitors seemed to cheer louder than anyone. The excitement was palpable. The measurement was quick and professional. Two of the best throwing officals in the business, LANCE TURLEY and BOB GOURLEY stretched the tape. The crowd waited in silence. Then, “92-07.5!” A blast of applause. McCullough allowed himself a hint of a smile as his Dad beamed from the stands. The implement was seized, measured and weighed, pronounced OK and the record was official. Somewhere, Connelly must have been smiling as well.
Asked later had he anticipated throwing that far, the modest youngster hesitated a long time. Then replied, almost thoughtfully, “I thought 90’ was possible. I never felt I could throw 92’.” Neither did Beamon think 29’ was within his grasp. The great ones always surprise… even themselves.
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