Earlier in the week, Lockport’s John Meyer decided he wanted to change his technique in the shot put circle.
“From eighth grade to now I was doing glide, which is start in the back and you skip across,” Meyer said. “But Wednesday, I decided to try the spin. It worked out pretty good.”
Meyer, a burly 6-foot-3 sophomore, unleashed a 63-foot shot put Saturday in the 22-team Dick Beebe Track Classic at Homewood-Flossmoor.
It’s the No. 1 outdoor shot put in the state this season and topped the 59-4.75 that Cary-Grove’s Ricky Hurley reached last year to win the Class 3A state title.
Before switching to the spin, the previous outdoor best for Meyer was 55-11 in a triangular meet this year at Lincoln-Way East.
“Just got to keep working,” he said. “You might not PR (personal record) every meet, but just keep your head up and hope for the best.”
Longtime Lockport coach Tom Razo pointed out that Meyer takes his event home with him.
“He’s a student of the sport,” Razo said. “He’ll go home and he’ll study film and pull up YouTubes. Between he and Wally Shields, my assistant coach, they work very, very hard. John’s gotten stronger and faster and better. He let one rip here.”
Mount Carmel’s Verdis Brown was second (52-2) and Lockport’s Matt Chmielewski third (49-10) out of 40 entrants.
“You really have to focus on your footwork,” Meyer said. “You can slip really easy in shot and go too fast. Too slow, you could overcompensate in the front of the ring.”
Shields, who coaches the Porters in the shot put and discus, had considered making the change sooner with Meyer.
“We were going to switch him to the spin last summer, but he was throwing good with the glide,” Shields said. “Last year, he won the national Junior Olympics in the discus and the shot in his age group, so it wasn’t like he wasn’t winning.
“So it’s like, ‘Do we mess with success?’ Good thing we did this week.”
Meyer also won the discus (171-10) at H-F. He was ninth (164-1) in the event at the state meet last season.
Meanwhile, Lockport senior Derrius Rodgers, a state finalist in the 100- and 200-meter dashes last year, cruised to a win in the 400 (49.03) over Munster’s Matt Marcus (50.78).
“I wasn’t too familiar with how to run the 400, but we worked on it this week,” Rodgers said. “Strategy was nice. I felt really smooth coming around the curve. It worked out well for me.”
Hillcrest senior Luther Newburn, last year’s runner-up in the Class 2A triple jump, broke a 39-year-old meet record in the event with a leap of 49-9.
“I was really trying to go further,” Newburn said. “All this week, I was getting (personal records). Every time I got a measurement, I was looking forward to improving. This has boosted my confidence.”
Crete-Monee’s Aarron Westmoreland, Ahmari Knight, Tiyen Simmons and Juawan Treadwell set a meet record in the 400 relay (42.36).
Thornton Fractional North’s Avery Taylor won the 110 high hurdles (14.90) and took second in the 300 intermediate hurdles. T.F. North ended the meet with a victory in the 1,600 relay (3:24.53).
Lake Central (Ind.) won the team championship (102) over H-F (92) and Crete-Monee (71.5).
Baseball
Andrew 16, Richards 14: Jack Crean (4 RBIs) led Andrew (4-7).
Brother Rice 10, Lincoln-Way Central 0: Ryan Kutt (grand slam) powered Brother Rice (13-2).
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Joliet Catholic 10-13, Carmel 7-3: K.C. Simonich (4-for-7, home run, 5 runs, 5 RBIs) starred for JCA (6-5, 2-0 ESCC).
Lemont 7, T.F. South 2: Dom Connolly (2 runs, 3 RBIs) boosted Lemont (8-3, 4-0 SSC Blue).
Lincoln-Way West 13, Evergreen Park 2: Matt Monahan (4 RBIs) fueled West (7-3).
Marian Catholic 8-9, Marian Central 2-4: Mark DiLuia (4-for-4, 3 runs) led Marian (10-1, 2-0 ESCC) in Game 2.
Mount Carmel 12, Bishop McNamara 2: Diego Munoz (3 RBIs) contributed for Mount Carmel (11-1) in its opener.
Providence 9, Montini 2: Tyler Zaremba (5 shutout innings) aided Providence (12-1, 4-0 Catholic Blue).
St. Laurence 7, DePaul Prep 2: Jimmy Burnette (5 innings, no earned runs, 8 strikeouts) paced St. Laurence (12-2, 5-0 Catholic Blue).
St. Rita 8, St. Joseph 0: Matt Verdun (5 innings, 1 hit, 7 strikeouts) lifted St. Rita (12-2, 4-1 Catholic Blue).
Tinley Park 14-12, Rich South 0-1: Brad Szymusiak (4-for-5, 5 RBIs) keyed Tinley (12-4).
Softball
Andrew 20, Richards 1: Gianni Iannantone (2 homers, 3 RBIs in first inning) powered Andrew (8-1).
Beecher 4-4, Reed-Custer 2-9: Taylor Johnson (3-run homer) carried Beecher (11-1) in Game 1.
Joliet Catholic 5, Bolingbrook 1: Alyssa Callans (no earned runs, 11 strikeouts) propelled JCA (7-2).
Lincoln-Way North 6, Lemont 5: Lauren Hunter (3 RBIs) sparked North (17-1).
Lincoln-Way West 1, Oak Forest 0: Amanda Ruskowsky (2-hitter, 9 strikeouts) led West (8-1).
Lockport Strike Out Cancer Games: Elena Woulfe (7-for-8, 5 runs) paced Lockport (7-2) over Downers Grove South 9-4 and Peotone 8-0.
Marian Catholic 3, Stagg 2: Meghan Henson (solo homer) aided Marian (9-1).
Marist 6, St. Charles North 4: Angela Zedak (2-run homer, 3 RBIs) spurred Marist (10-2).
Providence 2-12, Trinity 0-0: Kendal Judge (2-hitter, 11 strikeouts) lifted Providence (12-0, 8-0 GCAC Red) in Game 1 and Taylor Amato (4 RBIs) starred in the finale.
Queen of Peace 15-12, Morton 6-6: Caitlin Fitzgerald (5-for-7, 2 homers, 4 runs, 7 RBIs) keyed Peace (8-2-1).
Tinley Park 10, Homewood-Flossmoor 3: Megan Laib (homer, 3 RBIs) boosted Tinley (8-1).
Girls Soccer
Andrew 5, Providence 1: Nicole Novak scored for Andrew (11-2).
Lincoln-Way North 1, Warren 0: Rachel Pappas scored for North (8-4-1) in the PepsiCo Showdown.
Lincoln-Way West 2, Elgin 0: Breanna Bembenek scored for West (9-3).
Lockport 5, Jones 1: Brooke Janeczek (2 goals) paced Lockport (6-3-1) in the PepsiCo Showdown.
Stagg 5, Mother McAuley 0: Sydney Downs (5 saves) led Stagg (7-3-1).
Friday’s resultsBaseball
Lincoln-Way North 3, Bradley-Bourbonnais 0: Tyler Laux (6.1 innings, 4 hits, 9 strikeouts) and Tom Szczasny (solo homer) led North (11-3, 2-0 SWSC Red).
Lincoln-Way West 16, Andrew 11: Adam Knerr (2-for-3, 3 runs, 3 RBIs) aided West (6-3, 2-0 SWSC Red).
Oak Forest 10, T.F. South 0: Mike Edwards (3-hitter) paced Oak Forest (6-2, 3-1 SSC Blue).
Providence 3, Bishop McNamara 2: Zach Pych scored on a wild pitch to cap a two-run seventh for Providence (11-1, 3-0 Catholic Blue).
Sandburg 3, Joliet Central 2: Andy Gaytan (3-for-4, 2 doubles, 2 runs) fueled Sandburg (9-0, 2-0 SWSC Blue).
Softball
Andrew 16, Thornwood 2: Cierra Taylor (2 doubles, 3 RBIs) spurred Andrew (7-1, 2-0 SWSC Red).
Evergreen Park 12, Bremen 2: Megan Pyles struck out six and had three RBIs for Evergreen (6-3, 5-1 SSC Red).
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Joliet Catholic 6, Romeoville 0: Alyssa Callans tossed a four-hitter and went 2-for-4 with three RBIs for JCA (6-2).
Lincoln-Way West 3, Lincoln-Way North 0: Amanda Ruskowsky (2-hitter, 8 strikeouts) lifted West (7-1, 2-0 SWSC Red).
Lockport 8, Homewood-Flossmoor 4: Tara McElligott (4-for-4, 2 RBIs) boosted Lockport (5-2, 2-0 SWSC Blue).
Oak Lawn 3, Oak Forest 2: Mia Loya (no earned runs, 3 hits) elevated Oak Lawn (8-4, 5-1 SSC Red).
Marist 11, Plainfield East 1: Madison Naujokas (3-for-4, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs) led Marist (9-2).
Providence 1, Plainfield North 0: Jessica Cothern’s seventh-inning sacrifice fly scored Shannon Smith for Providence (10-0).
Sandburg 6, Joliet West 2: Molly Kaspar (2-run double) sparked a four-run seventh for Sandburg (8-5, 2-0 SWSC Blue).
Tim Tierney is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown. Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed to this story.