AFTER 3 ROUNDS of the hammer, Harvard soph Kenneth Ikeji stood in 3rd with his 247-6 (75.45) from round 2. That in itself would have been cause to celebrate. The 20-year-old Brit, No. 2 on our formchart had entered the competition with a PR of just 243-2 (74.12). Yet he also had won every hammer competition he had been in this season save for an early-season loss at the Florida Relays to Miami’s Decio Andrade.
Ahead of Ikeji were Arizona’s Jordan Geist, who had thrown a PR 249-3 (75.97) in the opening round, and favored Kostas Záltos of Minnesota, who hit 247-11 (75.57) in round 2.
With the order reshuffled for the final 3 attempts, Ikeji PRed again, this time to 249-3 (75.97). That put him in the lead ahead of Geist on the tiebreaker. He followed up with a 241-7 (73.63) in round 5. Throwing after him, Záltos moved to the front with a PR 250-5 (76.33).
That left just final throws, and Ikeji whirled a big one, jumping up and down after its release, then anxiously strutting while he awaited the verdict. On hearing the news that he had smashed his best with a 255-8 (77.92) that made him No. 6 in collegiate history, he danced for joy.
It wasn’t over yet, however. Záltos went hard on his final throw, only to foul. And Geist could only manage a 246-8 (75.18). By the time it was all over, 6 of the 8 scorers had set lifetime bests.
Ikeji made himself Harvard’s first winner since ’62. It marked a big improvement from last year, when the Ivy League champ finished only 17th at Regionals and did not advance.
He said, “It feels amazing. I never like to limit myself. So, when I saw it, my mind was blown. But at the same time, I believe I can do this, I believe I can do more and I keep having to believe that I can go further. I’m very, very happy, but hopefully my name will go higher on those rankings at some point.
“I’m just going to keep focused on my training. Everything is just training, training. I’m going to work hard and now I’m more motivated than ever.
MEN’S HAMMER RESULTS
(June 07)
1. **Kenneth Ikeji’ (Harv-GB) 255-8 (77.92) PR (CL) (6, x C; 3, 9 NCAA)
(239-1, 247-6 PR, 244-6, 249-3 PR, 241-7, 255-8 PR) (72.88, 75.45, 74.52, 75.97, 73.63, 77.92);
2. *Kostas Záltos’ (Mn-Gre) 250-5 (76.33) PR
(f, 247-11, 244-6, 243-9, 250-5, f) (f, 75.57, 74.52, 74.31, 76.33, f);
3. Jordan Geist (Az) 249-3 (75.97) PR (3, x AmC)
(249-3, f, 241-11, 236-10, 242-9, 246-8) (75.97, f, 73.74, 72.20, 74.00, 75.18);
4. Decio Andrade’ (Mia-Por) 241-10 (73.73)
(235-3, f, 241-10, 237-2, 238-10, 236-7) (71.71, f, 73.73, 72.30, 72.81, 72.12);
5. **Nikólaos Polychroníou’ (USC-Gre) 238-4 (72.65) PR
(224-9, 232-3, 238-1, 228-8, f, 238-4) (68.51, 70.80, 72.56, 69.70, f, 72.65);
6. Jake Kubiatowicz (Mn) 237-6 (72.40) PR
(231-4, 234-2, 237-6, 232-4, 225-9, f) (70.52, 71.38, 72.40, 70.83, 68.82, f);
7. Tyler Merkley (PennSt) 237-6 (72.40)
(f, 232-5, f, 231-6, 237-6, f) (f, 70.85, f, 70.57, 72.40, f);
8. ***Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan (Ms) 234-2 (71.38) PR
(227-5, f, 234-2, 223-4, 224-6, 227-7) (69.32, f, 71.38, 68.09, 68.44, 69.38);
9. Alencar Pereira’ (Ga-Bra) 230-4 (70.20); 10. *Jayden White (Wa) 229-10 (70.07); 11. Isaiah Rogers (KennSt) 228-11 (69.77); 12. **Anthony Barmes’ (Drake-NZ) 228-7 (69.67); 13. Parker Feuerborn (SEMo) 226-1 (68.91); 14. *Kade McCall (KsSt) 225-5 (68.72); 15. *Ivar Moisander’ (Cal-Swe) 224-7 (68.47); 16. *William Gross (Akr) 221-3 (67.45); 17. *Kyle Moison (Aub) 221-1 (67.38); 18. Trevor Otterdahl (NDSt) 220-11 (67.34); 19. Bobby Colantonio (Al) 220-8 (67.27); 20. *Aimar Palma Simo’ (ArSt-Spa) 220-6 (67.20); 21. *Kyle Brown (Aub) 217-1 (66.17); 22. Erik Ebel (Aub) 216-4 (65.95); 23. James Joycey’ (NC-Aus) 213-7 (65.10);… dnc—*Fabio Hessling’ (SJSt-Ger).
(best-ever mark-for-NCAA-place: 2–4, 7)
