CSAC Conference Championships

CSAC Championships
This past weekend Alfred State hosted the 2022 Outdoor CSAC championships.  The hammer and discus competitions were held on Saturday, May 7th.  The shot-put and javelin competitions were held on Sunday, May 8th (Mother’s Day).  As our group of throwers competed over the two days, we couldn’t have scripted a better outcome for their performances.
Women’s Discus
Nicole, Emma, Kelly, and Kenzie got things going with the first event of the day, the women’s discus.  The conditions were good for throwing; about 55 degrees, some sun, and very little wind.  Our throwers came ready to compete!  Nicole won with a throw of 33.56m, just 1cm off of her personal best.  Emma finished 3rd and Kenzie finished 7th.  It is the second consecutive year a female thrower from Alfred State won the discus competition.  Last year Emma won with a throw just over 30m.  (16pts.)
Men’s Discus
The atmosphere created by our female discus throwers continued into the men’s discus competition.  From my recollection, besides attending an outdoor national championship meet, Dylan and Dan had a great duel with monster throws.  Dylan won the competition with his 2nd round throw of 52.25m.  That is a conference and meet record throw.  At the time of this writing (Monday, May 9th, 2022) it currently places him in 3rd overall at the DIII level.  Dan finished second with a throw of 49.20m, which currently places him 20th at the DIII level.  Dylan had 5 fair throws all over 49.63m.  So far, this is his best series of the season.  James finished 3rd with a throw of 36.21m, and Wilfredo had a personal best throw of 27.58m.  (16pts.)
Women’s Hammer
Continuing with where our female throwers left off in the discus, Nicole hit a big throw of 39.05m to win.  Kenzie finished 6th with a throw of 22.41m.  (11pts.)
Men’s Hammer  
Similar to how the women fared, Dylan won the competition with a throw of 52.53m.  This throw is a conference championship meet record.  James finished 3rd with a personal best throw of 39.01m.  (16pts.)

My overall thoughts about how Day 1 went are nothing short of pleased.  Not just pleased with the distances our throwers hit in competition, but with the energy and excitement they competed with.  This was fueled by their teammates that were there to watch and cheer everyone on.  Yes, the distances are nice, but having support from your teammates and bringing a fire and enthusiasm to competition is exciting to watch as a coach.  It wasn’t a pep talk or magical words of encouragement that brought the fire, but a culmination of 26 weeks of work.  Having home field advantage is nice, but the competitors from the other teams competing also brought a fire and intensity that I hadn’t yet witnessed in an outdoor competition this season.  Everyone was engaged in what was going on and focused on the task at hand.  It was a good way to end Day 1, with the hopes of the same energy and excitement spilling over into Day 2.
Women’s Shot-Put
Emma and Nicole had a great shot-put competition.  Emma finished 2nd with a personal best throw of 10.79m.  Nicole also had a personal best throw of 10.30m to finish 3rd.  Overall, Nicole scored 26 throwing points over the two day competition.  Emma scored 14 throwing points over the two day competition.  (14pts.)
Men’s Shot-Put
It was a day of personal best throws!  The women got things going, and the men’s squad didn’t disappoint either.  Dylan finished 1st with a personal best throw of 14.27m.  Wilfredo also hit a personal best throw of 10.07m to finish 7th.  Dylan scored 30 points for the men’s squad.  He set two conference meet records, as well as overall conference records in the discus and hammer.  (10pts.)

This past weekend was a great way to begin the conference championship and postseason part of our competition schedule.  All of our throwers showed up to compete, were engaged in what was happening around them, and cheered on their teammates throughout the two day competition.