Simple as that.
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Northwestern enters this week’s Central Buckeye Conference championships with three shot putters throwing 54 feet or better and two discus throwers surpassing 172 feet, with a third approaching 160. Many schools would be thrilled to have one athlete hitting those numbers. But to have three?
It’s a blessing and a burden for Stevenson. The Warriors have three competitors capable of qualifying for the Division II state championships in both events. But only two athletes are allowed to compete per event.
“We all want to win state. We’re all competing against each other,” junior Korbin Spencer said. “But we’re teammates. We cheer for our team and we cheer for each other.”
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Senior Adam Riedinger leads the trio in the shot this season at 57-3, and he went 60-0.25 last season. Senior Blake Jamison’s personal best is 54-4 and Spencer’s is 54-3.
In the discus Spencer’s 176-10 is the best. Jamison is next at 172-3 and Riedinger has gone 158-9 (with a PR of 166 last season).
For comparison, 55-11 won the D-II state shot put title last season and 161-01 claimed the discus title.
“We were talking the other day that an opportunity with these athletes like this comes around once in a lifetime,” Stevenson said. “They’re three special kids. They’re three different individuals with different skill sets. They’re great kids. … It’s competitive but it’s a friendly competitiveness you want to see in kids and student-athletes.”
Riedinger won the CBC shot put title last season (59-0) and Spencer was second. Riedinger also won the discus (162-05). Spencer likely would have finished second but fouled on his attempts. Jamison – who gained ground on his teammates toward the end of last season — has joined them in distance this season.
“We have a really good coach. We have one that dedicates his life to it,” Jamison said. “He has a workout in the weight room for us every day and it kills us. But we’re doing something right. … When we go to meets we usually get looks from guys we know like, ‘Why did you guys have to show up?’ It’s fun.”
It’s not hard to miss them. Riedinger stands 6-5 and weighs 315 pounds. Spencer is 6-4 and 240 pounds. Jamison checks in at 6-1 and 215.
The flexed their muscle at the Wayne Invitational on April 25-26. Spencer repeated as discus champion with a toss of 161-11 to beat out a field of 68. Jamison (157-11) finished third and Riedinger (154-02) was fifth.
Out of 70 throwers in the shot, Riedinger’s 57-02 was second and just one inch out of first place. Jamison finished third (54-04) and Spencer fifth (53-04).
“It adds competition to practice and makes us better. I enjoy it. It’s good for us,” Riedinger said.
“Blake has really good speed in the ring. He’s very technical. He’s probably the best thrower I’ve seen from any team we’ve (competed against). He really works on his speed. Korbin has the body of what you’d want in a discus thrower. He’s got the long arms. He’s got good strength and he’s only a junior so he has room to improve.”
As for Riedinger?
“He’s just strong. He’s like 300 pounds of strength,” Spencer said.
Riedinger will continue his throwing career at Ohio State University next season. Jamison will do the same at Wilmington College. As for Spencer, he’s still deciding between football and track. He’s getting attention from (among others) the University of Cincinnati in track and Louisville and most Mid-American Conference teams in football.
The Warriors have used recent meets and practices to determine who will compete in each event for the postseason, which starts Tuesday with preliminary running events and select field event finals at the CBC meet at Northwestern. The running finals and remaining field events are Friday.
“That is the hardest part,” Stevenson said of deciding who gets to compete at district, regional and potentially state. “Our goal is to improve every week and pop the big throw at the right time. I think the process will get them there. The rest is on the boys and I think they’ll perform. We’ll see.”
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