Local throwers are finding success in waves

Catching a 12-pound boys shot or a discus is not recommended.

Catching the fever for those events ... well, that's a different matter.

It seems to be spreading among local athletes, and contraction can come in a multitude of ways.

For Notre Dame all-state senior Seth Sievers, it started with being dropped on his head on a wrestling mat as a freshman. For Jackson senior Paden Wachter, it came at the urging of her dad, Jackson track and field coach Steve Wachter, as an 8-year-old.

For Notre Dame junior Marissa New, who had tried volleyball, basketball, cheerleading and twirling, it was a friend of her mom's who made the recommendation for a new endeavor. Passion soon followed.

Thrower Seth Sievers of Notre Dame Regional High School. (Laura Simon)

"I've pretty much done about everything, but I've stuck with throwing," said New, who won the SEMO Conference Central discus competition recently.

For Notre Dame all-state senior Myriah Bernard, it took just one throw of the shot put -- a school record in her first meet in junior high school.

"Since I was good at it, it was like, 'OK, let's stick with it,' and I just fell in love with it," Bernard said.

This well-spring of passion, fostered by the knowledge of local throwing coaches, has been getting results on a mass level not seen in the past.

Area throwers had their best overall showing at last year's state meet as five locals received all-state honors, including three current seniors who are college-bound. Sievers, all-state in Class 3 in the discus and shot put, recently signed a letter of intent to throw at Southeast Missouri State. Bernard, who fell just an inch short of the Class 3 shot put title last year, will throw and play volleyball at William Jewell College. Wachter, Class 4 all-state in the shot put and discus as a junior, has signed to be a thrower at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo.

Jackson's Paden Wachter throws the shot put during Saturday's Class 4 Sectional 1 meet in Poplar Bluff, Mo. (BRIAN ROSENER ~ Daily American Republic)

Last year's all-staters also included Notre Dame graduate Jessica Menz, who was fourth in the discus, and current Jackson junior Clay Darnell, who finished sixth in the discus as a sophomore.

And two recent Jackson graduates currently are excelling in throwing events at Missouri. Jill Rushin, a two-time state champion in the discus and state champion in the shot put in Class 4, was second in the shot put at this year's SEC indoor meet. Jacob Bullinger, who broke a 27-year throwing record by Rushin's father, was the 2012 Big 12 indoor weight throw champion.

"I definitely think in the last four or five years, throwing has started to make its mark on the state level from Southeast Missouri," said Jackson throwing coach Richard Rushin, the father of both Jill and Ben, the latter who throws at Johnson County Community College. "I mean there's been some good throwers over the last 20 or 30 years, maybe one school here and there or one athlete here and there, but probably over the last six years -- in the last six years we've had somebody place at state or win at state, and a lot of times multiple [winners]."

Rushin, who himself had broken the school mark of Jackson standout Mike Gohn in the discus, was one of those sporadic high-achieving throwers from the area, which also included state champions like Chaffee's Tony Dalton in the late 1970s, Central's Jeff Tullis in the mid-1980s, Central's Laura Lukens in the late 1990s and Scott City's Loren Groves and perennial all-stater Heather Jenkins of Central in the early 2000s.

"I really think throwing is really kind of catching on," Richard Rushin said. "Maybe it's because more schools are getting coaches and got a feel for it. Because honestly, a lot of the schools don't have coaches that ever threw, and it's a very technical sport. You can take a good athlete and throw them out there, and it usually takes two or three years for them to get on a state level or even on a competitive level."

Thrower Myriah Bernard of Notre Dame Regional High School. (Laura Simon)

The spike in local throwing coincides with the arrival of Jill Rushin, a 2010 graduate, in the sport. Her success still reverberates through the Jackson program. Paden Wachter is one of 21 throwers in the program, a number that used to be around six before Jill Rushin broke the school records as a freshman as she began a run of four consecutive all-state years in both events.

"The training, and how she'd always been the last one here to throw," Paden Wachter recalls. "She'd always stay late, and how she carried herself around. She was really good, but she stayed humble about it."

As far as the actual throwing, Steve Wachter refers to Jill Rushin as a "technical guru." Her form has been the gold standard for local throwers, many who are undersized much as she is at her current collegiate level of competition.

Rushin, who is about 6 foot tall, competes against opponents that are up to six or seven inches taller in the SEC.

Her precise, explosive technique has been emulated on the local level.

2011 All-Missourian Track - Paden Wachter, Jackson High School (Kristin Eberts)

It's allowed Sievers and Paden Wachter to excel despite giving up height and pounds to the competition.

"Physically it doesn't make much sense for me to be a thrower," said Sievers, who has bulked up to 200 pounds on his 5-foot-10 frame.

But it's a frame packed with lean muscle and fueled by passion.

"Seth lives in the gym if not on the field," Bernard said. "You can see it on him. He's like the shortest little ripped guy you've ever seen."

At 5-foot-4, Paden Wachter has much the same uphill climb as Sievers.

"Dynamite comes in small packages sometimes," Richard Rushin noted about the two.

Paden Wachter has had a head start in her throwing career. She demonstrated more ability in the throwing events in AAU competition as a youngster and was pointed in that direction.

"I was not given God-given running ability," Paden Wachter said. "Dad saw that and saw that I threw the shot put decent and then he decided to show me the discus. And Jill Rushin, and Richard, showed me how to throw."

The path was not so defined for Sievers, who took up throwing only after suffering a concussion in wrestling. He was told his wrestling days were over and his search for a new sport took him out to the track that spring.

"I honestly don't know what possessed me to do it," Sievers said about throwing. "I was fast, and I continued to do some other events. Long jump, triple jump, high jump for a while. Ran couple relays.

"Mentally it was something I connected with. To me it was the most interesting event in track and field because it was your whole body working together in order to achieve a task in a way that's not just go be big or just be born fast. You have to learn the throwing technique."

Sievers, who said he leans heavily toward the sciences, immersed himself in the rotational technique that involves a quick series of movements before the release. It's a must for smaller throwers to get themselves into the best possible position to use their strength.

"Just looking at Seth and Paden, they're probably two of the smaller throwers in the state for their division, but yet on a competitive level, they're right up there in the top 5 percent," Richard Rushin said. "If they were gliders, I just don't think they would be near as competitive."

Gliding, a simpler motion, can be utilized by bigger throwers who possess more raw power. It allows for the possibility of quick success. Rotational (or spinning) is much more complex, but with a bigger payoff possible.

"It's complicated, but I definitely think you will get more bang for your buck being a rotational thrower, if you can do it," Richard Rushin said.

He puts the rotational throwing events only behind pole vaulting as far as technical difficulty in track and field.

Sievers talks about the rotational throws as a sequence that unleashes, if performed correctly, "The pop."

"It's a gradual thing, and then a sudden spike," Sievers said. "That's what happens is you build that torque slowly as you move throughout the ring. And then suddenly that torque and that pop and that power all comes up from the ground, to your legs, to your core to upper body and then out to the shot put or the discus."

And this year he is feeling "significantly more pop," he says with a smile.

The technique was not readily available to him. Notre Dame, which started its track program in 2001, never had a true throwing coach until former Southeast Missouri State thrower Brandon Colbert, who was the OVC outdoor male field athlete of the year in all four years of his college career, was hired this year.

"With Myriah and [Seth], it's been primarily Rushin that has taken up his time over there to get as good as they can," Notre Dame track coach Bill Davis said. "It's a very gentlemanly sport. We don't mind sharing our expertise. It's just the way it is. It's very honorable."

Sievers would attend some of the open sessions that Richard Rushin made available to area throwers six or seven years ago when Jill began throwing in middle school.

"I'd go out there and throw some with them, otherwise it was pretty much just me, a video camera and YouTube, looking at the pros and then looking at my throws and see what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right, what to fix and what to leave the same," Sievers said. "I did that for the first three years, basically."

Sievers also received some input at practices from former Central track and field coach Lawrence Brookins, who volunteered his time to work with Notre Dame throwers in the past, and former Tigers coach Rich Payne, who also assisted the Notre Dame program.

But it was his own interest in the throwing motion and human body that sparked his fervor and progress. The 140-pound freshman would qualify for state as a sophomore.

"I guess something in my mind finally allowed what was in my mind to transfer to the rest of my body," Sievers said about his sophomore year breakthrough. "I've always kind of had a mind for it. I can watch it and break it down. I could apply it, but I never could really do it. There was a disconnect between my mind and my body. I guess that disappeared."

He has since broken the school record in both events. He's thrown 54-11 in the shot put this year, and has thrown 160-4 in the discus.

"I think Seth found something that he likes, he worked at it and it's taken him to levels I'm not sure he imagined he ever could get to, and the sky's the limit," Rushin said.

To some extent, Sievers became somewhat of a coach by default among Notre Dame throwers who were without a full-time throwing coach.

"On a large level I have, because somebody had to do it, and I was probably the one who cared the most, and I could break things down pretty well, and I like helping people," Sievers said. "That's something I liked doing, and I guess I had a pretty good eye for it."

"We're blessed to be in the same school," Bernard said. "Seth helps me a lot with my throws."

And Bernard also served as a set of eyes for Sievers, who also sought feedback on his form.

"It was very hard when we didn't have a coach, but we were able to help each other," Bernard said. "But now we have coach [Colbert] it's a lot better, and now we can just really work and focus on ourselves."

Bernard also passes along credit to Richard Rushin for his expertise and tips over the years. It's allowed her to stay renewed in the sport, breaking through the plateau periods.

"It's just working for that distance," Bernard said. "You know what you want to throw and you have a plan every day. And when you reach it, it's the best feeling ever. All the hard work you put into it pays off in the end."

That dedication to technique and strength resonates among throwers, who appreciate the feats accomplished in their small circles.

Sievers soon will likely encounter Maryville senior Caleb Mather, the defending state champion in the shot put who threw 55-3 to earn the title. The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Mather was an offensive lineman for the Maryville football team that marched unbeaten to the Class 3 football title last fall. Mather already has uncorked 59-6 1/2 this season, and Sievers wouldn't mind seeing such a throw up close, even to his own detriment.

Appreciation is one of the symptoms of the fever.

"I make the comparison to an NBA slam-dunk contest," Sievers said. "Everyone wants to see something cool. They don't care if its done by them. People would rather throw well and lose than throw badly and win."