DRAGON JAVELIN THROWERS TAKE DIFFERENT ROUTES TO NATIONALS
By Steve Carpenter
Hutchinson CC Sports Information Director
She is a two-time Kansas state high school state placer. He always wondered what it was like to throw a spear and this spring decided to find out.
Now Hutchinson Community College track and field athletes Jenna Kuepker and Jack Losew have become two of the best javelin throwers in the NJCAA and will be competing in the 2024 NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which start Thursday at the University of Louisiana-Monroe in Monroe, Louisiana.
Day 1 of the three-day championship begins at 7 a.m. Thursday with the 10,000 meters. Thirteen Blue Dragon individual athletes or relays will be competing on Day 1.
The Blue Dragon men have 23 qualifiers for nationals coming off a third-place Region VI finish two weeks ago. The Hutchinson women have 19 qualifiers, also following a program-best third-place Region VI finish.
BLUE DRAGON TRACK AND FIELD
NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships – Day 1
When: Thursday, May 16, 2024
Where: University of Louisiana-Monroe; Monroe, LA
Times: 7:00 a.m.; 9:00 a.m.; 11:00 a.m.; 5:00 p.m.
Video: NJCAA TV (Pay-Per-View)
Live Results: Adkins Trak Timing Associates
X: @bluedragonsport
Hutchinson has six athletes ranked in the Top 8 of the individual national rankings. Kuepker and Losew are two of those eight athletes ranked among the nation's elite. Kuepker is fourth in the NJCAA with a throw of 154 feet, 3 inches. Losew is sixth with a top throw of 186 feet, 0 inches.
Kuepker started throwing the javelin in her junior season at Andale High School. She had instant success, placing fourth in Class 4A in her junior year in 2022 with a throw of 124 feet. She was the Class 4A state runner-up in 2023 at 138 feet.
"Throwing the javelin is really special," Kuepker said. "It's different than all the other throws. You are throwing a whole spear. You just can't expect to pick up a javelin and throw it far. There's a lot of technical work to throwing the javelin. I have a great coach in coach (Robert) Spies to teach us,"
Kuepker started her collegiate career with a throw of 132 feet, 9 inches to finish second at the Cowley Mark A. Phillips Classic in Arkansas City. Two weeks later at the K.T. Woodman Classic at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kuepker broke an 18-year-old Blue Dragon team record with a throw of 154 feet, 3 inches.
"When I heard what I threw, I started jumping up and down," Kuepker said of her school record throw. "I looked up in the stands and saw my family and I was just yelling because it was a big, big PR.
Kuepker has one event championship in the Javelin this year, winning the Fort Hays State Alex Francis Classic with a throw of 145-5. She was the Region 6 runner-up and Jayhawk West runner-up at 145-3.
As for Losew, the Hutchinson Central Christian graduate is a two-year member of the Blue Dragon track and field program, but was a jumps specialist for the Dragons.
Still, Losew said there was a certain draw for him to throw the javelin. This spring, he decided to follow that draw.
"I never threw it in high school, but I kind of wish I would have done it last year," Losew said. "I talked to Coach Spies about it and after a couple of months of practice, things started to click. It turns out that I'm halfway decent at it."
Losew's first meet was the Mark A Phillips Classic. He placed sixth with a throw of 157 feet, 11 inches. Four days later at the Broncbuster Classic in Garden City, Losew uncorked a throw of 170 feet, 2 inches.
Losew has had five meets of throws traveling 170 feet or farther, including a personal best throw of 186 feet for a runner-up finish at the Region VI championships two weeks ago in Pratt.
"Luckily for me, some of the stuff working in the jumps crossed over to the javelin," Losew said. "Since I really didn't have a base when I started, I've listened to coach Spies and learned all the right things about throwing the javelin from the start."
Now heading into nationals, the goal for both is to finish as an All-American and score as many points for their respective teams.
Both athletes will have to wait until Saturday to compete. Losew throws at 10 a.m. on Saturday, while Kuepker throws at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
BLUE DRAGON ATHLETES COMPETING IN THE 2024 NJCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
THURSDAY, MAY 16
7:00 a.m. - Women's 10,000 Finals (15) Serenity Larson; (25) Jordyn Picolet; (WC) Lauren Aden
7:50 a.m. - Men's 10,000 Finals (22) Farrin Mangelson
11:00 a.m. - Women's Hammer (18) Hayleigh Burke
1:00 p.m. - Women's Pole Vault (16) Nakaela O'Hair; (18) Alivia Noll
2:00 p.m. - Men's Hammer (11) Christopher Brown
5:00 p.m. - Men's Pole Vault (1) Chris Johnson; (WC) Jayce Spencer
5:00 p.m. - Women's 4x800 Relay Final
5:45 p.m. - Men's 4x100 Relay Trials
6:15 p.m. - Men's 400 hurdle prelims (1) David Thid
FRIDAY, MAY 17
11:00 a.m. - Men's Shot Put (11) Christopher Brown
Noon - Men's High Jump (6) Ti'Rique Roland
1:00 p.m. - Women's 1,500 Meter Prelim (30) Taylor Hoskinson; (31) Ellie Van Zelfden
1:15 p.m. - Men's 1,500 Prelim (46) Leo LeGrand; (58) Christian Darrah
1:40 p.m. - Women's 100 Hurdle Prelim (5) Kaylee James
2:00 p.m. - Women's Shot Put (14) Emily Schweizer
2:00 p.m. - Women's High Jump (12) Brooke Hawkins; (15) Liberty Limon
2:50 p.m. - Men's 100 Prelim (12) Ezekiel Seamster; (15) D'Antonio Warren
3:30 p.m. - Men's 800 Prelim (24) Leo LeGrand
4:05 p.m. - Men's 200 Prelim (12) Ezekiel Seamster; (37) D'Antonio Warren
4:50 p.m. - Men's 3,000 Steeplechase (24) Christian Darrah
5:25 p.m. - Men's 4x400 Prelim (WC) Hutchinson
SATURDAY, MAY 18
10:00 a.m. - Men's Javelin (6) Jack Losew; (19) Noah Raigoza
11:00 a.m. - Women's Triple Jump (9) Brooke Hawkins
1:00 p.m. - Women's Javelin (4) Jenna Kuepker
1:00 p.m. - Men's Discus (9) Christopher Brown
3:25 p.m. - Women's 5,000 Final (27) Serenity Larson; (33) Jordyn Picolet
3:50 p.m. - Men's 5,000 Final (35) Titus Kiprotich; (41) Farrin Mangelson