The collegiate Track and Field season is underway and a vital facet of the Spartans’ success has been through the continual development of this year’s throwers. Manchester is in the midst of its indoor season and has competed in five meets to date. Two meets have been located at Rose-Hulman’s incredible indoor facility with the other meets taking place at Anderson University and Huntington College.

  
This season’s throwers on the men’s side include lone senior Brandon Dyben, junior Trent Scott, and four talented first years in the likes of Justin Barton, Ryan Chamness, Jesse Steffen, and Josh Finch.

  
Because snow still continues to cover the outside facilities of many D3 colleges, Track and Field athletes are forced to adjust to the restrictions that the indoor track facilities possess. In the throwers case, only two events are performed during this particular season; the shot-put and weight throw.

  
Brandon Dyben has continued his tremendous career this season. Dyben currently holds the school record in both the weight throw and hammer toss and hasn’t seen any drop off in his performance this year. Through the five meets, Dyben has recorded numerous top five finishes including a first place finish in the weight toss at the second Rose-Hulman meet held a few weeks ago. First year Jesse Steffen recorded a sixth place finish in the first meet held at Rose-Hulman and other throwers on the Manchester squad have seen similar success with multiple top 10 finishes throughout the five duals.

  
The mix of veteran experience and younger talent has proved to be a deadly combination in the success of the throwers this season. Add to that second year Assistant Coach Paul Shump, who oversees the Spartan throwers and is also the weight lifting coordinator for the entire Track and Field Team.

  
Trent Scott, a junior on the team, has noticed an immediate impact with the arrival of Shump last season. “He’s around all of the time and he has done a great job of communicating what he wants from us on the track and in the weight room,” Scott said. “He’s extremely personable and his track and field sense is off the charts. He’s a nice guy, but he also knows how to make us turn that switch and help us perform to our potential.”

  
A major reason for the men’s success has come through a dedication and effort towards lifting weights. The throwers on both the men’s and women’s side try to get in the weight room at least 3 days a week and work on a variety of exercises that will enhance not only their strength, but their form and explosiveness as well. “Our lifting workouts can be pretty rigorous when everyone works like they should,” Scott added. “The increased distance in our throws at meets is in large part of that. We as throwers understand that our strength and core explosion will ultimately determine our outcome in the meets.”

  
The women throwers on the Spartan crew have lived up to the expectations set at the beginning of the year and have equaled much of the men’s success.

  
The throwers on the women’s side include senior Tasha Bryant, sophomore Lindsay Machamer, and freshmen trio Phylicia Kelly, Courtney Hall and Madi Gregory.

  
Lindsay Machamer has seen the most triumph on the women’s side as she has recorded multiple top five finishes. Her best result took place during the first Anderson meet where she placed third in the shot-put. Other notable finishes on the women’s side at the Anderson meet came from first year Courtney Hall, and senior leader Tasha Bryant. Hall claimed a fifth place finish in the shot-put with Bryant finishing eighth in the same event.

  
As noted, the Spartans are still competing in the indoor part of their season and won’t compete outdoors for another two or three weeks. The indoor season consists of six meets for the entire team with additional meets taking place for national qualifiers.

  
Not all the events that take place outdoors are able to be performed indoors, resulting in only a few throwing events for the indoor part of the season. The shot-put and weight toss events occur in both seasons with the outdoor season also consisting of the javelin throw, the hammer toss, and the discuss throw.

  
The javelin throw takes a different type of form and is achieved by only one member from both the men’s and women’s sides. First year Josh Finch will compete in the throw for the men with first year Madi Gregory  playing the same role for the women.

  
Outside of the javelin toss, the same throwers will compete in every event on both sides. The depth that these Spartan throwers hold will be a contributing factor in the amount of top 10 finishes earned throughout the course of the year.

  
Manchester is in the heart of its season with the transition from inside to outside just around the corner. The throwers are currently on a weekly practice routine that involves a great deal of core work. Strengthening the core is essential for many of these throws that are attempted along with the repetition of form. The workouts, at times can seem tedious, but correcting form in practice can be the key difference in finishing third or not placing at all. “We have a continual circuit that we do Monday-Friday,” Scott said. “We do many variations of core work through push-ups and sit-ups and implement a ton of form work into our daily workouts as well. I would rather be throwing outside than practicing in the gym, but you have to build up step-by-step before you can succeed in a meet.”

  
In three more weeks that notion will become a reality as the Spartan throwers will be outside helping to contend for a conference championship and a bid for nationals.

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