STORY: Texas Tech T&F Preview #2: Throws

[RRTracklover]

Like I have done in the last several years, I will break up the previews into multiple parts -- trying to preview the entire team at one time is just too onerous for anyone to read. The order this year will be: 1) Sprints (100, 200, 400, relays), 2) throws (SP, DT, HT, WT, and JT) , 3) hurdles (100H/110H, and 400H), 4) Middle distance/long distance, (800, 1500, steeple, 5K, and 10K) and 5) jumps (HJ, LJ, TJ), vault, multis. Each year, I debate whether I want to have a stand-alone preview for throws, but the only place I could put this preview would be with the other field events (the jumps and vault) and that preview is already huge. The number of throws athletes is not large, but it had a definite impact on the conference and national standings in 2021 and should have a bigger impact in 2022.

The 2021 season was a disappointment for the overall Red Raider men, although the women did rather well. In 2019, the Tech men won the first ever men's national title for Tech at the D-1 outdoor nationals, getting a huge 10 points when a Red Raider won the discus. Then, the 2020 season was completely wiped out by COVID, so the Red Raiders returned to the 2021 national meet as the defending champs.............and did not score a single point! The women performed much better at nationals, finishing in a tie for 11th at both the indoor and outdoor meet (thank you, Ruth Usoro). But, even that was a slight disappointment, as they appeared to have a team that could finish top-10 at both meets.

Coach Kittley and his staff responded to the disappointment by completely reshaping the team. Some of the athletes who had eligibility left (mostly due to COVID redshirt), but who had disappointed have transferred other places. There are over 40 new faces on the team in 2022, but only a couple are on the throws squad, But there may well be some additional midterm throws addition. This should be a really good women's team (even with lots of losses in the sprints) and this could be a men's team that will rival the 2019 national championship team.

Let's look at the Red Raiders throw squad:

MEN - lost Werner Bouwer, the South African javelin thrower, who got 3rd in the Big 12 javelin and who scored 32 points in his career throwing the spear, but he never scored at nationals; and Braden Darrow, a walkon kid who scored 1 point in the shot put, getting 8th in the Big 12 shot put in 2019.

Returnees:

• Gabe Oladipo - Sr - this guy is a beast - huge and powerful. He had stagnated at TAMU and transferred to Tech and has turned into an All-American thrower -- last year at the Big 12 outdoors, he won the discus and got 7th in the HT, and 8th in the SP. Indoors, he won the weight throw and was 8th in the SP and got All-American in the WT. The only blemish on his year is that he did not qualify for nationals in the discus, which is his best event. Look for that to change in 2022. Gabe has already scored 38 conference points in 3 conference meets since coming to Tech
• Jacob Mechler - So/RS Fr - a former multiple time state champ from Andrews, Jacob transferred to Tech from ACU (which has a noted throws program themselves -- ranked #1 in the nation in the DT in 2019). Jacob placed 4th in the WT indoors and improved his weight threw considerably, then sustained a bad training accident between the indoor and outdoor seasons and had to take a medical redshirt outdoors. I think that Jacob can rival Gabe in the DT and WT eventually -- if he can get back to 100%. I think he is only a RS freshman outdoors - 2020 was a COVID redshirt and 2021 a medical redshirt.
• Konner Wood - RS Fr from Holliday - loads of potential in this redshirt. I saw him throw in HS and he is big, raw-boned kid. He was 2nd in the 3A DT and ranked #47 in the country in that throw as a HS senior. If he adds strength, he could be a serious contender in the WT indoors and the DT and HT outdoors.

Newcomer - Garrett Wade - from Rio Rancho, NM, who learned to throw the javelin at Eastern Michigan, where he was 4th in the Mid-American Conf meet last year. Garrett is a 200 foot javelin guy and will help at the conference level, but will need to see huge improvement to have any impact on the national level.

I have heard that Tech could get a huge addition in the throws at midterm, but I don't have anything more concrete than that.


WOMEN - Tech did not lose a single thrower and return 2 All-Americans, although both are seniors this year. The throws will be a area of serious point production again in 2022.

Returnees:

• Seasons Usual - the senior returns for one last year after getting 3rd in the national meet in the discus and getting third in the Big 12 discus (but falling outside the points in the HT getting 9th). Seasons has already picked up 3 All-American accolades (2 in the discus and 1 in the weight throw). She has contributed 48 points at conference meets for Tech and should add to that substantially in 2022.
• Kayli Johnson -- came to Tech last year as a grad transfer after three years at Michigan State, where she never scored a point at the Big 10 meet. In her first year under the tutelage of Coach Cliff Felkins, she picks up a All-American spot by getting 8th in the indoor national meet in the SP. Kayli scored 18 points in her first Big 12 conference meets. She improved every single one of her PR's in every throwing event. And, hopefully she will finish her Tech career this year with a continued upward trajectory.
• Baylee Thompson - RS Fr from Jacksboro -- in a perfect world, all HS throwers should be allowed to redshirt for their entire freshman year and Baylee was afforded that luxury in 2021. She was the 3A state champ in the SP in 2019, then had her senior season scuttled by COVID. In her junior year, she was ranked #22 in the U.S. in the SP and #33 in the discus throw. I am expecting Baylee to explode onto the conference throwing scene this year.
• Field Gatlin - RS-So - indoors, Field barely missed scoring as she got 9th in both the SP and WT in 2021. Field never made it to state in HS, but has improved drastically in her 2 years at Tech and should be a contender for conference points in 2022.
• Maria Sotomayor - Sr - an international athlete who transferred from NM Highlands, she was 12th in the JT in 2021. I just don't see her contributing a lot without serious improvement
• Abigale Rhodes - RS-So - came to Tech with some good HS marks, but apparently has had to complete remake her throwing style to be competitive at the college level. She is a strong kid and if she has been able to turn the corner on her throwing style remake, she could be a contributor this year

Newcomer - Malin Smith is the 2022 version of Kayli Johnson. Malin is a junior transfer from Cincinnati who had a reasonable amount of success there (3rd in the AAC both indoors and outdoors in the SP), but she has never been able to reach the All-American level. And, while her SP has improved some in college, her other throws have not. Malin has already thrown over 53 feet in the SP, 176-0 in the discus and 170 feet in the hammer. If she attains the same level of improvement in 2022 as Kayli did in 2021, Tech could be looking at THREE All-Americans.