By Emma Childs
Puddles of rainwater took up the majority of the throwing circle Saturday afternoon at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships, but the rain did not faze Washington State hammer thrower Brock Eager.
“I’ve been throwing in the rain my whole life,” the Washington native said. “I was kind of hoping for the rain to throw off the warmer weather competition and it went well for me, so I’m happy for that.”
The redshirt sophomore dominated the event, throwing 221 feet, 1 inch to become the Pac-12 champion. His throw flew through the air, just as gracefully as his red hair did.
Eager’s winning throw was just less than seven feet farther than the second-place thrower Michael Painter, a Stanford University graduate student.
Painter, a quiet competitor, from Cambridge, England, said this was his first time competing in a conference meet in the United States.
Eager and Painter don’t have much of a relationship, but Eager credited Painter as a good thrower and knew he had to overthrow him. Both throwers will presumably face each other again as the outdoor season continues.
Eager expected to win, as he was the top-seeded thrower over all the other competitors.
He smiled and said, “I wanted to come in with a lot of confidence, but to go out there and win it still meant a lot.”
The last time Eager competed at the Pac-12s was in 2015, but as a UCLA Bruin. Last year, his sophomore year, he transferred to Washington State and redshirted.
Eager’s 2016 redshirt year helped develop his throwing techniques and allowed him to build muscle and his confidence.
“I really figured out what I was doing and have progressed from there a lot,” said Eager. Now he consistently throws 35 feet over his 2015 marks.
He stressed that he throws for his team, not just for his own personal benefit. Right after Eager said this, his teammates came up behind him in the interview area, slapped him on the back and said, “Smile, dude, it’s OK to smile.” Eager laughed and said, “I wanted to come out and hit a big mark early and hopefully bring my good throws early for them and sort of lighten up the mood of the meet….it was a good meet.”
While winning may be seemingly easy for Eager, he still wants to continue to perform well so he can qualify to compete at the NCAA Track and Field Regionals in Austin, Texas.
Competing back at Hayward Field is always in the back of his mind when he steps up to the throwing circle, no matter what meet he is competing at.
His goal is simple, “I want to throw 70 meters (229.7 feet) at nationals.”
