Even with the most events on the schedule in the five-year history of the USATF Throws Festival, the women’s hammer throw continued to secure the spotlight Saturday, showcasing the most depth of any competition with five of the top eight performers in the world participating at Roy P. Drachman Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
Brooke Andersen not only won for the third year in a row, but also capped her series in impressive fashion, producing a world-leading performance of 260 feet, 1 inch (79.29m) on the final throw of the competition to rally past fellow American athlete DeAnna Price in a showdown of past World Championship gold medalists.
Price produced her best mark since setting the American record in 2021 with a sixth-round effort of 257-7 (78.51m), which surpassed Andersen’s third-round mark of 255-10 (77.99m) to take a temporary lead. Price won the World title in 2019 in Doha and Andersen earned global gold in 2022 at Hayward Field in Oregon.
Andersen also prevailed last year at the USATF Throws Festival with a 262-2 (79.92m) performance, which followed her meet and facility records of 263 feet (80.17m) at the 2023 event.
Price elevated to No. 3 in the world this year, trailing Andersen and fellow American competitor Rachel Richeson, with all three athletes over the 78-meter mark this season, in addition to reigning Olympic gold medalist and Canadian standout Camryn Rogers, who did not attend Saturday’s meet.
Richeson took third in Tucson at 251-5 (76.65m), followed by Janee’ Kassanavoid – the 2022 winner at the USATF Throws Festival – with a mark of 250-8 (76.42m) to ascend to No. 6 in the world this season and last year’s U.S. Olympic Trials champion Annette Echikunwoke improved to No. 8 globally after throwing 247-7 (75.47m).
Stephanie Ratcliffe, an Australian competitor and the reigning Southeastern Conference champion representing University of Georgia, took 10th at 229-5 (69.94m).
Daniel Haugh was the only other repeat winner Saturday, prevailing again in the men’s hammer throw with identical marks of 254-7 (77.60m) in the third and fourth rounds.
Fellow American athletes Alex Young and Tanner Berg placed second and third, respectively. Young achieved an opening-round mark of 249-5 (76.02m), with Berg throwing 248-10 (75.84m) on his third attempt.
Haugh triumphed last year at the meet with a 259-2 (79.01m) performance.
Valarie Allman, the American record holder in the women’s discus throw and two-time Olympic gold medalist, returned to Tucson to compete for the first time since 2017 and prevailed with a fourth-round performance of 224-7 (68.45m).
Gabi Jacobs, last year’s winner, secured second with a fifth-round mark of 209-3 (63.78m), with Nigerian standout Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons taking third following her final attempt of 205-1 (62.52m) and Texas Tech senior Shelby Frank achieving fourth at 200-5 (61.10m).
Frank produced a lifetime-best 203-10 (62.14m) to win the Big 12 Conference title May 17 at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
Maggie Ewen earned her first shot put victory at the meet to close out the schedule, achieving a second-round effort of 64-1 (19.53m).
Danniel Thomas-Dodd, the Jamaican record holder and two-time winner at the USATF Throws Festival, was runner-up at 62-10 (19.15m). Thomas-Dodd won Thursday at the Tucson Elite Classic with a mark of 62-8.50 (19.11m).
Jessica Woodward rallied in the fifth round to improve to third at 60-11.50 (18.58m).
Marc Anthony Minichello, an NCAA Division 1 champion representing both Penn and Georgia during his collegiate career, won the men’s javelin throw competition with a second-round performance of 271-2 (82.65m).
Donavon Banks, a fellow American athlete, also achieved his best throw in the second round to earn runner-up at 268-9 (81.92m), with Icelandic standout Sindri Gudmundsson – a former All-American at both Utah State and Mississippi State – taking third at 267 feet (81.39m) based on his first attempt.
Curtis Thompson, No. 3 in the world this year and third all-time among American athletes at 287-11 (87.76m), only finished fifth Saturday with a throw of 256 feet (78.03m).
Madison Wiltrout only had two fair throws in the women’s javelin competition, but the opening-round effort of 191-5 (58.36m) by the U.S. standout was enough to prevail against Australian athlete and University of Georgia senior Lianna Davidson at 185-3 (56.47m).
Davidson, a three-time SEC champion and the only athlete to win the conference title for multiple schools after capturing the previous two championships for Texas A&M, elevated to the No. 3 all-time collegiate thrower at 209-3 (63.79m) on March 22 at Georgia Tech.
Josh Awotunde achieved a season-best mark Saturday in the men’s shot put with an opening attempt of 70-2.50 (21.40m).
Zach Landa, an Arizona senior, was second at 65-1.25 (19.84m), just ahead of former North Carolina standout Daniel McArthur and his 65-0.75 (19.83m) effort.
Andrew Evans, a runner-up in the men’s discus throw at the 2022 meet in Tucson, emerged victorious Saturday with a third-round performance of 219-2 (66.82m) to lead American athletes taking the top four spots.
Jordan Roach was second at 205-6 (62.64m), followed by Turner Washington at 201-1 (61.31m) and Reggie Jagers III at 199-8 (60.86m).
American competitors also took the top four spots in both high jump fields, with the fewest attempts deciding the winner via tiebreaker in each event.
Charity Hufnagel, the reigning U.S. Olympic Trials winner, cleared 6-2 (1.88m) on her first opportunity, holding off 15-time national champion Vashti Cunningham, who made the height on her second try. Cierra Tidwell and Arizona All-American Emma Gates also cleared 6-2.
Caleb Snowden, an All-American at Arkansas Pine-Bluff, led four male athletes clearing 7-3 (2.21m), also earning the victory after making the height on his first attempt.
Eli Kosiba, an NCAA Division 2 champion at Grand Valley State, also achieved a first-attempt clearance, but missed once on the previous height of 7-1 (2.16m) to determine the overall winner.
Earnest Sears and Justin Lewis also produced 7-3 clearances.
Davisleydi Velazco, a Cuban competitor training in Puerto Rico, won the women’s triple jump with a wind-legal effort of 46-11.75 (14.32m) on her second attempt to produce a new facility record.
Mylana Hearn was the top American athlete in the field with a mark of 44-11.50 (13.70m).
Jordan Scott, an NCAA Division 1 champion at Virginia representing Jamaica, won the men’s triple jump after opening his series with a 55-10.50 (17.03m) performance into a headwind.
Jah-Nhai Perinchief from Bermuda was second at 54-11.50 (16.75m), just ahead of American athlete Russell Robinson producing a mark of 54-11.25 (16.74m).
Jeremiah Davis was the only competitor in the men’s long jump to produce an 8-meter effort, battling a strong headwind to achieve a 26-3 performance in the third round, holding off fellow U.S. standouts Cameron Crump at 26 feet (7.92m) and Will Williams at 25-11 (7.90m).
Chantel Malone from the British Virgin Islands triumphed in the women’s long jump with a third-round leap of 21-1.25 (6.43m) into a headwind, edging American performer Quanesha Burks at 20-9.25 (6.33m).
Nathan Richartz cleared 18-7.25 (5.67m) on the third attempt to win the men’s pole vault competition, with fellow American athlete Kristen Leland achieving a height of 14-4.75 (4.39m) on the first try to triumph in the women’s pole vault field.
It marked the first time that all 16 field events were showcased on the same day at the meet.
– Erik Boal
