IRON WOOD THROWS CLASSIC: 'By throwers, for throwers' — Competitors laud thrower-centric Rathdrum meet

By MARK NELKE 

Sports writer 

RATHDRUM — Before each throw, Payton Otterdahl pauses before he steps into the ring, and gazes out at the shot put landing area, and where his next toss might land. 

Or maybe, he’s just admiring the setting at the Iron Wood Throwers Center, which on Saturday was the site of Day 2 of the Iron Wood Throws Classic at the corner of Ramsey Road and Highway 53. 

“I’m a little more biased; I like Iron Wood more than Pre,” Otterdahl said, referring to next week’s Prefontaine Classic at historic Hayward Field in Eugene. 

Why? 

“It’s a meet by throwers, for throwers,” said Otterdahl, who won the men’s discus on Saturday at the Iron Wood Throws Classic — his third win in four visits to Rathdrum. “And we know most of the people here, so it’s sort of like a big family reunion. It’s one of the only meets where we get to all be together. Most of our competitions, they might have one or two throwing events, but this is the only one that has all of them. It’s good to see everyone.”

DeAnna Price, the American record holder in the women’s hammer throw, started to choke up as she surveyed the surroundings, which included Rathdrum Mountain, after she won the women’s hammer on Saturday. 

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” said Price, after her third win in as many visits to Rathdrum. “It is a very chill environment, but you have great fans, great people, it’s just people who love the throws, and to me that’s the best thing in the whole entire world. To me, this is God’s country, because of how amazing and beautiful it is, you can honestly just feel his presence here ... sorry, talking about it makes me tear up.” 

Earlier Saturday, in the first event of the day, Chase Jackson set an American record in the women’s shot put, throwing 68 feet, 8.75 inches, breaking her own record from 2023. Jackson won gold in 2022 at the World Athletics Championships. 

Otterdahl, from Lincoln, Neb., took the lead on his second of six throws on Saturday, a toss of 72 feet, 5.75 inches. Roger Steen, who led after the first round with a throw of 71-1.5, finished second. 

“Solid warmups, and good first three rounds,” said Otterdahl, who won at Iron Wood last year. “Didn’t quite capitalize and build on the last three, was kind of missing it, especially in the front ... just things to work on.” 

Otterdahl just missed a medal at the Paris Olympics last year, finishing fourth with a mark, he said, that would have gotten a medal at every single other Olympics besides Tokyo. 

“It’s a tough spot to be in, but it’s also a blessing,” he said, “because it’s all the motivation I need for the next four years.” 

A global medal is the goal, Otterdahl said. 

“I got fifth at world champs in 2023, fourth in the Olympics,” he said. “I’ve finished as high as I can at any meet without a medal, so, the goal is to bring home some hardware.” 

The women’s hammer throw looked a bit like a sorority gathering, with the women encouraging each other before and after throws, and posing for a group photo after the competition.  

“We always try to keep it fun,” Price said. “The best thing about hammer throwing is, it’s just you and the ring. Yes, you are competing against other people, but you’re also competing against your own PRs. You try not to let that competitiveness leak over into relationships.” 

Especially when one of the competitors, Rachel Richeson of the U.S., who came in with the top-seeded mark, just ahead of Price, fouled on all three throws in prelims and did not advance to the finals. 

“That’s a heartbreaker,” said Price, who lives in Champaign, Ill. “Like I said, whenever your competitors don’t do well, it doesn’t make anything feel good. You feel bad ... because all you want is everyone to throw their season best. I’m a veteran now (at age 32) ... you just want everyone to be happy.” 

Rathdrum has been a happy place for Price, who set an American record in the event, then improved on it with a throw of 263 feet, 5 inches at the 2021 Olympic Trials. 

Price is a three-time Olympian, coming off an 11th-place finish in Paris in 2024. After the Olympics, an MRI showed she had torn her hamstring tendon in her right leg — first in May, then at the Olympic Trials. 

As for Saturday, Price took the lead on her second throw (252-0), and won by nearly 10 feet. She said she had a hard time with her footwork on the new hammer throw ring at Iron Wood, built since she last competed in Rathdrum. She said the new ring was “faster.” 

Still, she said it was nice to pop a 76-meter throw. 

“Today wasn’t really my day,” Price said, “and that’s OK, but you learn something about yourself in those kind of moments.” 

Other winners on Saturday included Tanner Berg (U.S.) in the men’s hammer, Andrew Evans (U.S.) in the men’s discus, Curtis Thompson (U.S.) in the men’s javelin, Madison Wiltrout (U.S.) in the women’s javelin, and Laulauga Tausaga-Collins (U.S.) in the women’s discus. 

MEN’S HAMMER THROW — 1, Tanner Berg, U.S., 246-6. 2, Kieran McKeag, U.S., 246-5. 3, Alex Young, U.S., 244-3. 4, Justin Stafford, U.S., 241-4. 5, Trey Knight, U.S., 241-1. 6, Kade McCall, U.S., 239-10. 7, Diego Del Real Galindo, Mexico, 234-0. 8, Brock Eager, U.S., 230-9. 9, Johnnie Jackson, U.S., 228-9. 10, Kristofer Emig, U.S., 225-10. 11, Grayson Fleming, U.S., 220-8. 12, Keagan Schroeter, U.S., 219-6. 13, Matt Ward, U.S., 212-5. 

WOMEN’S SHOT PUT — 1, Chase Jackson, U.S., 68-9. 2, Magdalyn Ewen, U.S., 64-7.25. 3, Jaida Ross, U.S., 64-4.5. 4, Jessica Ramsey, U.S., 61-9. 5, Jessica Woodard, U.S., 60-10.75. 6, Abby Moore, U.S., 57-6.25. 7, Kelsie Murrell-Ross, Grenada, 57-3.75. 8, Divine Oladipo, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 55-2.25. 9, Liv Sands, Canada, 54-2. 10, Nana Gyedu, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 54-0.5. 

MEN’S SHOT PUT — 1, Payton Otterdahl, Lincoln, Neb., 72-5.75. 2, Roger Steen, U.S., 71-1.5. 3, Nick Ponzio, U.S./Italy, 69-0.5. 4, Daniel McArthur, U.S., 67-4.75. 5, Uziel Munoz, Mexico, 66-8. 6, Jordan West, U.S., 65-9.5. 7, Chris Van Niekerk, South Africa, 65-7.75. 8, Nik Curtiss, U.S., 65-4.25. 9, T’Mond Johnson, U.S., 64-1.75. 10, Lucas Warning, U.S., 62-9.5. 11, Alex Kolesnikoff, Australia, 62-2.5. 12, Jeff Kline, U.S., 56-7.5. 

WOMEN’S HAMMER THROW — 1, Deanna Price, Champaign, Ill., 252-0. 2, Annette Echikonwoke, Nigeria, 240-6. 3, Jalani Davis, U.S., 234-8. 4, Erin Reese, U.S., 231-9. 5, Stephanie Ratcliffe, Australia, 229-10. 6, Sade Olatoye, Nigeria, 226-2. 7, Lara Roberts, Australia, 226-1. 8, Mayyi Mahama, U.S., 224-9. 9, Shelby Moran, U.S., 222-3. 10, Giovanna Meeks, U.S., 218-7. 11, Ale Joy McArthur, Japan, 215-11. 12, Amber Simpson, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 215-4. 13, Lexi Maples, New Zealand, 199-3. 14, Rachel Richeson, U.S., no distance. 

MEN’S DISCUS — 1, Andrew Evans, U.S., 211-9. 2, Mauricio Ortega, Columbia, 209-11. 3, Jordan Roach, U.S., 208-10. 4, Robbie Otal, U.S., 208-9. 5, Joseph Brown, U.S., 208-5. 6, Reginald Jagers III, U.S., 208-2. 7, Dallin Shurts, U.S., 204-11. 8, Legend Hayes, U.S., 203-2. 9, Yakob Ekoue, U.S., 200-10. 10, Youssef Koudssi, Canada, 193-4. 11, Mitchell Weber, U.S., 192-2. 12, Sam Weeks, U.S., 190-7. 

WOMEN’S DISCUS — 1, Laulauga Tausaga-Collins, U.S., 218-5. 2, Gabi Jacobs, U.S., 215-5. 3, Veronica Fraley, U.S., 212-1. 4, Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons, Nigeria, 206.1. 5, Elena Bruckner, U.S., 203-4. 6, Micaela Hazlewood, U.S., 191-11. 7, Obiageri Amaechi, Nigeria, 191-8. 8, Alexandra Freeman, U.S., 185-8. 9, Kaia Harris, U.S., 177-8. 10, Tary Gollshewsky, Australia, 174-7. 

MEN’S JAVELIN — 1, Curtis Thompson, U.S., 268-10. 2, Donovan Banks, U.S., 248-0. 3, Chandler Ault, U.S., 230-5. 4, Pat Vialva, U.S., 229-6. 5, Dash Sirmon, U.S., 225-4. 6, Ryan Rieckmann, U.S., 224-3. 7, Jackson Morris, U.S., 222-11. 8, Ethan Shalloway, U.S., 219-8. 9, Blake Sturgis, U.S., 208-6. 10, Colby Shamblin, U.S., 195-10. 

WOMEN’S JAVELIN — 1, Madison Wiltrout, U.S., 188-7. 2, Maddie Harris, U.S., 183-10. 3, Rhema Otabor, Bahamas, 179-0. 4, Sarah Blake, U.S., 178-9. 5, Ariana Ince, U.S., 178-1. 6, Sophia Rivera, Puerto Rico, 168-1. 7, Julia Campezato, U.S., 167-2. 8, Erin Zimmerman, U.S., 163-8. 9, Jada Green, U.S., 163-5. 10, Laura Lindquist, U.S., 159-5.  

    MARK NELKE/Press DeAnna Price of Champaign, Ill., won the women's hammer throw Saturday at the Iron Wood Throws Classic at the Iron Wood Throwing Center in Rathdrum.
  

    Photo by JERRY VICK Chase Jackson set an American women's record in the shot put Saturday at the Iron Wood Throws Classic at the Iron Wood Throwing Center in Rathdrum.
  

    Photo by JERRY VICK Laulauga Tausaga-Collins won the women's discus Saturday at the Iron Wood Throws Classic at the Iron Wood Throwing Center in Rathdrum.
  

    Photo by JERRY VICK Tanner Berg won the men's hammer throw Saturday at the Iron Wood Throws Classic at the Iron Wood Throwing Center in Rathdrum.