ON THE LAST THROW of his collegiate career Jordan Geist won the shot title with a come-from-behind effort. A consistent NCAA scorer, the Arizona senior finished the year as indoor and outdoor champion, unbeaten by college throwers. His best of 69-1¼ (21.06) won by 2cm over in-state rival Turner Washington of Arizona State.
The first flight found Nebraska junior Max Otterdahl leading with a 67-4 (20.52). In the featured second flight, Washington moved to 2nd with his first throw, 65-10¼ (20.07), but was immediately passed by Geist, who reached 67-2¼ (20.48). In round 2, Washington improved to 66-8¾ (20.34), while Geist hit 66-8 (20.32) to make them 1–2. Neither thrower improved in the 3rd round, but LSU senior John Meyer reached 67-¾ (20.44) to pass Washington for 3rd.
With the throwing order inverted for the final 3 rounds, Washington, now 4th, was the first thrower among the leaders. He uncorked a heave of 69-½ (21.04), then watched Meyer foul. Geist next hit his best thus far, 67-11 (20.70) to move to 2nd. Otterdahl, suddenly 3rd, would not improve in the rest of the competition.
None of the leaders improved in round 5, but in the final frame Cincinnati’s Fred Moudani came to life, hitting a PR 67-4¾ (20.54) to pass Otterdahl for 3rd. Washington fouled his final effort, but still held the lead when Geist entered the ring.
Clad all in red, Geist spun quickly and launched a good throw. Exultantly raising both arms when the mark of 21.06 showed on the scoreboard, Geist then had to wait out the last throw of the day and saw Otterdahl’s final attempt fall more than 3 feet short.
Geist, 24, added his first outdoor title to the 3 outdoor 3rds he has taken, including his earlier-this-afternoon finish in the hammer with a PR 249-3 (75.97).
Happy with his first win in a major outdoor nationals, Geist said, “It feels great. I had a pretty slow start in the competition, but I was able to build throughout, and on the last one, finally get one that was decent enough to take the lead.”
MEN’S SHOT RESULTS
FINAL (June 07)
1. Jordan Geist (Az) 69-1¼ (21.06)
(67-2¼, 66-8, 67-0, 67-11, f, 69-1¼) (20.48, 20.32, 20.42, 20.70, f, 21.06);
2. Turner Washington (AzSt) 69-½ (21.04)
(65-10¼, 66-8¾, 65-6¾, 69-½, f, f) (20.07, 20.34, 19.98, 21.04, f, f);
3. *Fred Moudani’ (Cinc-Fra) 67-4¾ (20.54) PR
(61-9¾, f, 65-4¾, f, f, 67-4¾) (18.84, f, 19.93, f, f, 20.54);
4. *Maxwell Otterdahl (Nb) 67-4 (20.52)
(64-6¾, 66-½, 67-4, 66-9¾, 66-5, 65-11) (19.68, 20.13, 20.52, 20.36, 20.24, 20.09);
5. John Meyer (LSU) 67-¾ (20.44)
(66-1¾, 65-6¾, 67-¾, f, 64-8, 65-2¾) (20.16, 19.98, 20.44, f, 19.71, 19.88);
6. *Hayden Tobias (OhSt) 66-5¾ (20.26) PR
(66-1¾, 65-2, 64-6, 64-3, 64-8, 66-5¾) (20.16, 19.86, 19.66, 19.58, 19.71, 20.26);
7. Jordan West (Ar) 65-8¼ (20.02)
(63-1¼, 64-4½, 65-8¼, 64-8, f, f) (19.23, 19.62, 20.02, 19.71, f, f);
8. *Jeff Duensing (Cal) 65-6¾ (19.98) PR
(f, 65-6¾, 64-6¾, f, f, 63-10¼) (f, 19.98, 19.68, f, f, 19.46);
9. *Alexander Kolesnikoff’ (Harv-Aus) 65-2¾ (19.88); 10. Jonah Wilson (Nb) 64-9¾ (19.75); 11. ***Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan (Ms) 64-8¾ (19.73); 12. Josh Sobota (Ky) 64-8 (19.71); 13. **Jason Swarens (Wi) 64-3 (19.58); 14. Rojé Stona’ (Ar-Jam) 63-10½ (19.47); 15. *Courtney Lawrence’ (KennSt-Jam) 63-7¾ (19.40); 16. *Michael Shoaf (NDm) 62-8½ (19.11); 17. Patrick Larrison (Ks) 62-7¾ (19.09); 18. Youssef Koudssi (Az) 62-5¼ (19.03); 19. *Jeff Kline (Md) 61-7 (18.77); 20. *Zach Landa (Az) 61-6¼ (18.75); 21. *Patrick Piperi (Tx) 61-2¼ (18.65); 22. Isaiah Rogers (KennSt) 58-3¼ (17.76); 23. Jamir Gibson (GaT) 57-0 (17.37);… 3f—*Bryan Hudson (Louis).
(best-ever mark-for-NCAA-place: 5, 10)