RATHDRUM, Idaho \u2013 He has a name straight out of a 1960s TV western, and at just 21 years old has the makings of being the new sheriff in the wild frontier of American track and field\u2019s throwing arts.<\/p>\n
But which throw? Discus or hammer?<\/p>\n
Texas Tanner doesn\u2019t have to decide yet, so he won\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve shown in my time in college that I can work two events pretty consistently and almost equally in terms of progression,\u201d said the recent Air Force Academy graduate. \u201cLater in life, I\u2019ll probably choose one over the other, but as of right now I can do both.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so he did at Saturday\u2019s Iron Wood Classic, opening the day with a win in the hammer (245 feet, 10 inches) and doubling back to set a meet record in the discus (217-2) in a field that included two Olympians and a world championships finalist.<\/p>\n
Two wins in the same day is a first at Iron Wood, which in its short 11-year existence has featured 19 U.S. national teamers with Olympic or worlds experience \u2013 no one more decorated than Valarie Sion, who\u2019s kind of the current sheriff in town.<\/p>\n
And the two-time discus gold medalist didn\u2019t come all the way from Austin, Texas, back to Iron Wood on Saturday to be upstaged by a relative kid. So after Tanner vacated the ring, Sion put a new name on the women\u2019s record with a throw of 230-7.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an asterisk to that distinction. Sion had the old record, too \u2013 in her birth name, which she changed three months ago after her marriage to her coach, Zeb Sion.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy whole goal today was to try to make the facility record go from Valarie Allman to Valarie Sion,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cThat was pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Considering three of the eight meet standards at Iron Wood were also American bests when set, this record-breaking business is no small thing \u2013 even when the record is one\u2019s own.<\/p>\n
But two victories might be bigger \u2013 at least as big as all Texas.<\/p>\n
Wondering about that name?<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents met in Texas,\u201d Tanner explained, for probably the zillionth time, \u201cand my mom is from Texas. My dad was thinking of a cool name that\u2019s unique. And he told me, \u2018Who wouldn\u2019t want to go to a party at Texas Tanner\u2019s house?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Is that true? Are his parties turn-away affairs?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t throw many parties,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause I don\u2019t have a house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such are the limitations of service academy life, where dorm living is required. Another requirement: competition. Tanner has been in action in 15 of the 22 weekends \u2013 sometimes in more than one meet \u2013 since the indoor season began. That may be one reason his winning marks Saturday came in under his bests (258-9 hammer, 228-2 discus).<\/p>\n
But those marks suggest Tanner\u2019s potential and capacity for growth. Consider that in picking up the hammer as a freshman, he went from 138 feet in his first meet to 194 three weeks later. Currently, he\u2019s second on the U.S. list in the discus and third in hammer, the leaders being a pair of 30-something American record holders, Sam Mattis and Rudy Winkler.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s putting in the dedication and work,\u201d Tanner insisted. \u201cAlmost every single day, especially in the offseason, I go lift and throw. It\u2019s drive and determination to be good. If I didn\u2019t put in that time, I wouldn\u2019t be able to make those big jumps.\u201d<\/p>\n
His discus record Saturday came on his first throw \u2013 six inches better than Andrew Evans\u2019 2018 throw \u2013 and he was admittedly fortunate to have it hold up. Olympian Joseph Brown came within an inch at 217-1 in the fourth round, and Brian Williams had three throws between 215-6 and 216-2.<\/p>\n
As expected, Sion wasn\u2019t going to be pressed. Her 222-1 opener would have won by more than 10 feet, and she went an even 70 meters \u2013 229-8 in Round 3. The winner came on attempt five \u2013 her husband shouting, \u201cThere you go!\u201d when she added five inches to her Iron Wood mark from 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeventy meters \u2013 once you\u2019ve done it, it\u2019s a bit addicting,\u201d said Sion, who won gold at the delayed 2020 and 2024 Olympics, \u201cbut also a big mental barrier. I feel like I\u2019ve been chasing it all year and hadn\u2019t quite lined it up. To finally hear that \u20187-0\u2019 \u2013 twice \u2013 was awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
And she gave a big helping of the credit to the Iron Wood vibe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis place is so authentic,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s part of the recipe they\u2019ve nailed. Coming here, you feel the magic of throwing. Some places recharge your batteries, and this is one of those places.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just how hard it is to get into the Iron Wood record book was driven home to Jordan Geist on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Arizona grad \u2013 who represents Iron Wood on the pro circuit \u2013 blasted his opener in the shot 72-53\/4 and stretched that to 72-113\/4 in the next round, just a quarter inch off his lifetime best.<\/p>\n
But Peyton Otterdahl\u2019s 2024 Ironwood record of 73-51\/4 managed to hold up, the only disappointment of Geist\u2019s day, which saw four throws measured beyond 72 feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hoping to get the pro record to go with the high school one,\u201d said Geist, who sent the 12-pound shot 74-41\/2 as a prep thrower here in 2024. \u201cBut I\u2019m hoping to get back here for more cracks at it in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RATHDRUM, Idaho \u2013 He has a name straight out of a 1960s TV western, and at just 21…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-344599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}