A KEY MOMENT came in round 3 when Minnesota’s Ángelos Mantzouránis stepped into the hammer ring sitting 11th and facing elimination. A thrower with a 257-11 (78.61) PR should arguably be a lock to make an NCAA final, but… stuff happens. Lower body tendinitis, for example, which Mantzouránis had been managing with varying degrees of success since last year’s World Championships. He and coach Peter Miller also made some technical adjustments earlier this season, which had yet to click.
Long story short, Mantzouránis came to Eugene with a season’s best of 249-3 (75.98) and some questions as to whether he was ready to take on Air Force’s Texas Tanner (258-9/78.87) and Iowa’s Ryan Johnson (254-9/77.64), who’d each posted historic marks in ’26.
Mantzouránis had two things going for him as he fought to salvage his day. One, Coach Miller was wearing a pair of lucky socks decorated with photos of his baby daughter. Two, Mantzouránis had no idea what place he was in after rounds 1 and 2.
“Sometimes,” he said afterwards, “it’s better not to know. It just adds pressure.”
Free of all cares, Mantzouránis stepped in and dropped an easy 242-10 (74.04) on the field to take over 1st. Johnson, who broke the NCAA weight record in March, answered with a 244-1 (74.40) effort that left him, Mantzouránis, and Tanner, at 242-7 (73.94), holding down the top 3 spots heading into what turned out to be a raucous final.
Tanner was likely feeling the pressure of expectations after a phenomenal season during which he broke 250 feet at three different hammer comps while also launching an American CR 228-2 (69.56) in the disc. Now he blasted his fourth-round attempt into the cage.
Mantzouránis then knocked Johnson from the lead by hitting 247-0 (75.31).
In round 5, Tanner found his rhythm and jumped from 3rd to 1st with a 247-6 (75.45) toss, only to have Mantzouránis respond seconds later with 248-7 (75.78) to regain the lead.
That throw held up for the win, giving the Gophers a second consecutive title. Mantzouránis’s teammate, roommate, and countrymate Kostas Záltos won in ’25.
Another lovely moment for Coach Miller and his crew came when Anthony Barmes, competing in his final NCAA tilt, joined Mantzouránis on the podium. Barmes shook off a freshly-pulled abductor muscle to finish 6th, a performance he dedicated to his mother who lost a battle with cancer a year ago.
MEN’S HAMMER RESULTS
(June 10)
1. *Ángelos Mantzouránis’ (Mn-Gre) 248-7 (75.78)
(f, 225-2, 242-11, 247-1, 248-7, f) (f, 68.63, 74.04, 75.31, 75.78, f);
2. Texas Tanner (AF) 247-6 (75.45)
(222-9, 233-11, 242-7, f, 247-6, 245-4) (67.90, 71.30, 73.94, f, 75.45, 74.78);
3. *Ryan Johnson (Ia) 244-1 (74.40)
(226-11, 241-7, 244-1, 232-0, 240-3, 233-5) (69.17, 73.63, 74.40, 70.71, 73.24, 71.16);
4. *Jeremiah Nubbe’ (Va-Can) 237-11 (72.52)
(233-5, 234-0, 237-11, 235-11, 232-0, 232-3) (71.16, 71.32, 72.52, 71.90, 70.72, 70.79);
5. Travis Martin (SLO) 237-9 (72.46)
(226-1, 228-11, 231-7, 230-6, 236-5, 237-9) (68.92, 69.78, 70.58, 70.27, 72.07, 72.46);
6. Anthony Barmes’ (Mn-NZ) 235-11 (71.91)
(230-6, 235-11, 230-8, 232-6, f, 232-5) (70.27, 71.91, 70.30, 70.88, f, 70.85);
7. ***Max Lampinen’ (USC-Fin) 235-0 (71.64)
(222-5, 224-9, 228-8, f, 229-8, 235-0) (67.80, 68.50, 69.70, f, 70.00, 71.64);
8. **Igor Olaru’ (Tn-Mol) 233-3 (71.11)
(225-8, 227-5, 233-3, 230-2, 229-0, 231-8) (68.79, 69.32, 71.11, 70.17, 69.80, 70.62);
9. Alex Bernstein’ (DeP-GB) 232-0 (70.71); 10. Nikólaos Polychróniou’ (Va-Gre) 227-11 (69.48); 11. ***Mico Lampinen’ (USC-Fin) 225-8 (68.78); 12. Gary Moore (KsSt) 225-1 (68.61) PR; 13. Collin Burkhart (PennSt) 222-6 (67.82) PR; 14. *Juha Narhi’ (MsSt-Fin) 218-1 (66.48) =PR; 15. Henry Zimmerman (TxAM) 218-0 (66.46); 16. ***Seamus Malaski (Pur) 217-2 (66.19); 17. Cale Ayers (Va) 216-3 (65.93); 18. ***Basel Abosina’ (Fl-Egy) 215-8 (65.75); 19. *Xavier Griffiths (MiSt) 212-10 (64.88); 20. *Christian Toro (Duke) 210-11 (64.28); 21. **Pavlos Tzamtzis’ (Mn-Gre) 210-7 (64.19); 22. Orry Willems’ (Cinc-Bel) 207-10 (63.35); 23. Sam Innes (Mo) 206-8 (63.01);… 3f—***Francisco Calhau (LaM).
