Thompson's a quick study in javelin event
| Friday, May 08 2009 11:09 PM
Last Updated Monday, May 11 2009 11:30 AM
Southern California Championships
When: Today
Where: Mount San Antonio College (Walnut)
Begins: 11 a.m. field events, 2 p.m. running events
BC qualifiers: Men--Cooper Thompson, javelin; Kevin Norwood, long jump; Cesar Mireles, 800 and 1,500 meters. Women--Carey Tuuamalemalo, discus; Chanel Reaves, long jump; Holly Mosely-Raymond, pole vault; Emilley Leming, 3,000-meter steeplechase; 4x100 relay (Reaves, Ashley Colbert, Carolina Gone and Ashley Webber)
Images
John Harte / Special to The Californian Profile of Bakersfield College's Cooper Thompson, who has just taken up the javelin and is among the best in the state. This is Thompson at practice Friday afternoon. CQ
John Harte / Special to The Californian Profile of Bakersfield College's Cooper Thompson, who has just taken up the javelin and is among the best in the state. Thompson unloads a throw during practice at the college Friday. CQ
John Harte / Special to The Californian Profile of Bakersfield College's Cooper Thompson, who has just taken up the javelin and is among the best in the state.
Cooper Thompson is having a remarkable year throwing the javelin at Bakersfield College.
But when you consider he didn't take up the event until January, "remarkable" might be changed to "unbelievable."
Thompson, a freshman from Garces High School, has stormed to the top of the California community college leaderboard in the javelin and is the heavy favorite today at the Southern California Regional Championships at Mount San Antonio College.
Thompson broke the BC school record and also set the Western State Conference record on April 25 when he threw 208 feet, 6 inches.
No one else among California JC throwers has reached 200 feet. Thompson is ranked fourth nationally among JC throwers.
Thompson was a long and triple jumper at Garces, where he also played football and basketball.
He briefly tried football at BC, but quit before the Renegades' season-opener.
Thompson took up officiating freshman and JV basketball, then decided to give track a chance.
"I told them I wanted to try javelin because I had never done it before," Thompson said.
Thompson said his interest was sparked when a former BC standout in the event, John-Michael Ruder, began dating his older sister and encouraged Thompson to try the javelin.
So in January, Thompson joined a group of newbies to the event under the direction of BC throws coach Amber Varner.
"I thought he was pretty good for a newcomer," Varner said. "He threw a couple, and I said, 'OK, he may catch on.' I figured he'd throw 150 or 160 feet this year for sure."
In Thompson's first meet on Feb. 12, he threw 132 feet.
One week later, he improved to 173 feet. And he's gotten better from there.
"He went from 173 to 183 to 188, then to 185," Varner said. "When he went to conference (the WSC prelims on April 18), he threw 202-7. Then he comes up here in the conference finals and breaks the conference record with a 208-6."
And Thompson is just scratching the surface of his potential, Thompson and Varner said.
"If you look at my videos, I did everything wrong and I still threw 208," Thompson said.
Some of the technique issues include making sure his arm is straight and stretched as far behind his body as possible.
On the approach, the legs must be parallel and the feet must be synchronized as he runs to the launching point.
"The main part is getting a good plant," Thompson said. "You want to feel like you're running full speed into a wall. You want to, like, hit the wall, stop and throw it.
"I still haven't felt that. I don't know what would happen if I felt that."
Varner said 220 feet is possible for Thompson today or next week at the state championships.
"Last week he warmed up at 180, which is really far for him. He usually throws 150 in warm-ups," Varner said. "I knew he had a chance to throw it really far."
A tailwind took away any chance at drastically improving his personal best, Varner said.
"A tailwind for the jav is bad," she said. "You'd think a headwind is bad, but that's what you want. He threw it straight up, which is something else you don't want to do, and it landed 208 feet away.
"If he had caught it (the wind) and kept it straight, he probably could have thrown over 220 feet last week," Varner said.
A possible state title is Thompson's ultimate goal. To get there, he said he will need to throw at least 190 today.
"I'm pretty confident I'll throw at least 190," he said.
