Ty Hampton said he drew strength from his teammates en route to his Pac-12 title. Photo by Kevin Neri
Oregon redshirt sophomore Ty Hampton, a former New Balance high school national title winner, won the men’s javelin Pac-12 title Friday night with a throw of 242 feet, 4 inches in the heavy rain at Hayward Field.
Hampton’s second throw provided him with a 19-foot margin of victory over Washington’s Roan Allen. In fact, all six of Hampton’s throws were better than any of the other competitors’ six throws, providing him with a comfortable win.
“My first throw going in was just to get an easy throw, then after that it was going to turn it up,” Hampton said. “After that second throw I was comfortable, so just trying to throw farther.”
Hampton’s performance was not hampered by the poor weather conditions on the field, as his winning throw was his second best of the outdoor season. He said he was prepared for the rain.
“I knew it was going to happen, what are you going to do? Go out there and not compete as hard as you can?” Hampton said.
Hampton’s Pac-12 title win comes after two seasons spent recovering from injury, marking a long road to recovery for the elite high school javelin thrower.
“I think it was when I finally just started relaxing, and taking it as it goes, not just forcing the throw, and just letting it happen,” said Hampton.
Hampton’s win gives him momentum heading into competition at the NCAA track and field championships in early June at Hayward Field. Despite his impressive performances this season, Hampton is not expecting anything at NCAAs to be easy.
“It’s not about who has the best mark coming in – it’s about who shows up on that day,” Hampton said.
Hampton’s win helped add more points to the Ducks’ team tally along with Eric Lyon’s third place and Dalton Rasmussen’s fifth place. All four of Oregon’s competitors finished in the top seven.
“I have not had a better dynamic than that this year,” he said. “I think us four guys are the best javelin team in the nation, and all of us are always hyping each other up and feeding off of each other.”
