RATHDRUM — With a beautiful sunny backdrop featuring lush green pine trees, Rathdrum Mountain and a 10-acre facility with fields and facilities tailor-made for throwers Saturday, the IronWood Throwers Classic was a sweet success at 1620 Highway 53.

Throw in some occasional rhythmic clapping from some of the more than 200 in attendance, some hard-rockin’ music blaring from large speakers and some yells from some top throwers, and it was a throwers’ festival in the second year of the event.

For the first time, women were able to compete and they posted some impressive marks. The meet attracted former Olympians, throwers who competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials and former college champions in all shapes and sizes. Many are getting prepared for the U.S. Olympic Trials, set for July 1-10 in Eugene, Ore. From there, a select few will represent the U.S. in this year’s Summer Olympics, set for Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Oh and by the way, the top four in each of the professional men’s and women’s competitions all came home with some cold, hard cash. The winner received $1,000, second-place competitors picked up $700, third-placers got $500 and fourth-place throwers receved $300, totaling $15,000 among all the cash earners combined.

But perhaps more improtantly for the long-term improvement of the sport, some of the top-ranked high school throwers in the country got to mingle with the professional big boys and girls. Every thrower in each of the three events — discus, shot put and hammer throw — had six attempts and only their best throw counted in the final results.

Bart Templeman, regarded by USA Track and Field and several throwers as of the nation’s top volunteer throws coach, built the facility and recently bought another five acres that’s two steps from his facility. Next year, he hopes to build an area for javelin throwers to come to his IronWood Thrower Development Camp he co-founded and holds every year.

“It’s unbelievable,” Templeman said. “This is an amazing event. That’s a really neat thing, watching them interact with the Olympians. That just raises the bar for everybody. I think the kids had a really great time and that’s what it’s all about. Let them excel and do what they want.”

The competitive drama was everywhere, but none more than in an upset of sorts in the men’s shot put. Darien Moore of Bakersfield, Calif., who attends Concordia University in Irvine and has attended colleges in South Dakota and Oregon, won by a sliver of a hair over Ryan Whiting of Saxonburg, Pa., who finished ninth in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Whiting, who spent five months from August to January rehabbing a left knee injury, had a high throw of 20.32 meters in the third round. But it was Moore’s time to shine and he did, barely, with a personal-record throw of 20.33 (approximately 66 feet, 8 inches). Jordan Clarke of Anchorage, Alaska, who finished third in last year’s U.S. championships, was third (20.29).

Moore, whose previous best throw was 19.8 meters, plans to go to the U.S. Olympic Trials. He placed fourth in the U.S. Indoor Championships last year.

“I just came in with the mindset, I was just going to P.R., I’m not going to beat these guys who are at the top of the hill,” Moore said. “Obviously, they all had bad days and I knew at the end of the day, it was all about competition so you’ve just got to attack it aggresively. I was ranked about 29th (in the country). After this throw, I’ll probably be among the top 10 or 12.”

Another thrower who got his money’s worth, both literally and figuratively, was former Kansas and Wyoming thrower Mason Finley of Buena Vista, Colo., who won the 2009 Pan Am Junior championship.

In the men’s discus, the 6-foot-8, 325-pounder racked up a throw of 65.63 meters (215 feet, 4 inches), beating out hearty efforts of Andrew Evans (63.20) and two-time U.S. championship runner-up Jason Young (62.93). Finley finished strong in his final three throws (64.33, 64.13, then 64.78), all of which would have beaten Evans. Finley also set a U.S. national high school record in 2009 with a throw of 72.09 meters, during the High Altitude Challenge in Alamosa, Colo., a record that had stood since 2001.

“It was the best series of my life,” Finley said. “I trusted my technique. My first two throws were booty (poor), I thought about who’s here, nothing that matters. I thought, this isn’t working. You come through practice working on your technique. Then you come to an actual meet, especially with this high of a competition and stuff tries to run away from you. I just took it to the next level, I finally just relied on my technique, being able to let myself go.”

The women were impressive as well in their debut at IronWood. One of them was Brittany Henry, a 2002 graduate of Lewis and Clark High in Spokane, who attended the IronWood camp in 2001 and later coached in 2008, who won the hammer throw. The 31-year-old Oregon grad, who was ninth at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012 and 2008 had her best throw measure 67.05 meters (219 feet, 12 inches).

“Today was a good day,” Henry said. “I enjoyed the atmosphere, I’m happy to see that my family and friends got to come out and watch me. I felt I did a good job of working on my rhythm and putting myself in a good position for the Olympic Trials. It’s good that they’re incorporating more events, it helps when throws get some love. Sometimes we feel like the redheaded stepchild but Bart has done a good job of including in for our journeys.”

U.S. high school leader Jordan Geist of Knoch High of Saxonburg, Pa., provided the top highlight among high school throwers. The junior heaved a shot put of 22.67 meters (74 feet, 4 inches) to win a close meet over Adrian Piperi (21.64) and third-place finisher Isaiah Rogers (19.98).

“It’s definitely an honor,” Geist said of being able to compete among Olympic-level throwers. “I broke (Whiting’s) high school record in Pennsylvania,” Geist said. “It was definitely the best competition I faced. Anyone at this level wants to be an Olympian.”

And count Templeman among those who were impressed by Geist.

“When you have someone throw 74 feet in high school, excuse me? It’s really crazy,” Templeman said.

Another high school boy was Kirk Unland of Ferris High in Spokane, who won the high school hammer throw (64.18). Last weekend, he won the Washington state title in the hammer throw.

“It was great to compete with the Olympians,” Unland said. “Last night (Friday) at dinner, it was good talking to them.”

In the men’s hammer throw, Connor McCullough, a senior at USC who is taking his final exams this week, won at 72.46 (237 feet, 9 inches), beating four-time national champion and three-time Olympian A.G. Kruger (71.42). McCullough’s personal-best is a 77.2.

“We both gave each other a run for our money,” McCullough said. “I definitely could’ve thrown better. I’ve just got to hit the drawing board to get to the next level. If I did that in Rio, I would (perform poorly).”

All distances in meters

HAMMER THROW

MEN — 1, Connor McCullough, 72.46. 2, A.G. Kruger, 71.42. 3, Colin Dunbar, 71.76. 4, Mike Lihrman, 68.97.

BOYS — 1, Kirk Unland, 64.18. 2, Matt Stagus, 62.78. 3, Tim Beard, 57.47. 4, Bailey King, 55.26.

WOMEN — 1, Brittany Henry, 67.05. 2, Taylor Bush, 64.04. 3, Caressa Sims, 61.85. 4, Katie Wadsworth, 52.38.

GIRLS — 1, Kamryn Brinson 51.74. 2, Maddie Rabing, 50.72.

SHOT PUT

MEN — 1, Darrien Moore, 20.33. 2, Ryan Whiting, 20.32. 3, Jordan Clarke, 20.29. 4, Darrell Hill, 20.23.

BOYS — 1, Jordan Geist, 22.67. 2, Adrian Piperi, 21.64. 3, Isaiah Rogers, 19.98. 4, Bailey King, 16.60.

WOMEN ­— 1, Becky O’Brien 17.48. 2, Jillian Rushin, 17.05. 3, McKenzie Warren, 16.86. 4, Daniella Bunch, 16.56.

GIRLS — 1, Kathleen Young, 15.64. 2, Khayla Dawson, 14.60. 3, Maddie Rabing, 14.29. 4, Kiana Phelps, 14.26.

DISCUS

MEN — 1, Mason Finley, 65.63. 2, Andrew Evans, 63.20. 3, Jason Young, 62.93. 4, Nathaniel Moses, 60.71.

BOYS — 1, Terrell Adams, 62.40. 2, Turner Washington, 59.83. 3, Adrian Piperi, 59.47. 4, Jordan Geist, 56.95.

WOMEN — 1, Stephanie Trafton, 61.70. 2, Liz Podominick, 58.46. 3, Summer Pierson, 57.99.

GIRLS — 1, Kiana Phelps, 51.14. 2, Kathleen Young, 45.04. 3, Makayla Kelby, 44.24. 4, Khayla Dawson, 42.49.