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Benedictine University Athletics will once again host the 2013 Chicagoland Summer Throws Series The event has three separate dates which are June 8th, June 15th, and July 20th.
All three meets will contest the Javelin, Discus, and Shot-put with the first two June meets also contesting the hammer throw. All meets are held on Saturdays and are open for youth, high school, collegiate, open, and masters athletes to compete. The meets are registered USATF sanctioned meets and will boast a fun, competitive, and enjoyable atmosphere for all those competing and even those who are just going to show up and watch some of the best athletes in the sport compete.
The June 8th meet will be a very important meet for the series because we will be hosting the best throwers from across the country from the high school and open divisions. The National Scholastic Athletics Foundation will be bringing four men and four women in each of the four events who are currently the top athletes in the country with their marks. With the help of Tom Pukstys, former Olympian and now assistant track and field coach for the U.S. track and field team, we will also be bringing in some Olympians and potential future Olympians.
Some of those expected to attend on the Olympian side are Russ Winger, an elite shot-put and discus thrower in the country who has had a throw for seven consecutive seasons that has put him in the top ten in the U.S. for outdoor shot-put. Alfred "A.G" Kruger, four-time U.S. outdoor champion in the hammer throw, seven-time U.S. indoor weight throw champion, and he also took third at the 2012 Olympic Trials. Gia-Lewis Smallwood finished third at the 2011 USA Outdoor Championships in the discus and had a personal record this past weekend with a throw of 214 feet. Aretha Thurmond, four-time USA outdoor champion in the discus and a two-time Pan Am Games gold medalist. Chris Cralle, 2012 Olympic trials runner-up in the hammer throw, will be attending the meet. Several more Olympians are expected to compete at the June 8th meet as well.
Stats from last year's series which are expected to be much higher this year in all categories:
- Competitors from 14 different states
- 2 Olympians
- 14 Olympic Trials qualifiers
- 3 former NCAA Champions
- 22 former NCAA All-Americans
- 3 former IHSA State Champions
Benedictine University will also be hosting a meet and greet reception and clinic with the Olympians on June 7
th, the night before the meet, at the Dan and Ada Rice Center located on the corner of Maple Ave and College Rd. Details on this clinic and the schedule/order of events for these meets have not been finalized yet but can be found on our facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/13SummerThrows as soon as they are finalized. Or by contacting
Greg Raimondi - meet director at
Graimondi54@gmail.com or by phone at (708)744-0790.
To register and pay on-line for the 2013 Chicagoland Summer Throws Series please
CLICK HERE.
