American JavFest Gains Foothold in the Poconos

By Brian Towey of DyeStat

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- Crank up the music. Let the javelins fly.

Terrell Webb stood at the back of the javelin runway and then methodically began the long run-up.

A recent graduate of St. Benedict's Catholic Secondary School in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, Webb, his sister, Alexandria, and their mother and coach with the Invictus Track Club, Vicki Webb, made the six-hour drive south to Pennsylvania for the American JavFest.

VIDEOS | PHOTOS - by John Nepolitan

With the throb of heavy metal music ever-present, Olympian Sean Furey straddling the runway for high-fives, and master of ceremonies and East Stroudsburg South PA coach Barry Krammes' voice booming above the fray, this javelin-only gathering was no ordinary meet.

"For javelin throwers who are truly javelin throwers, this is the place to go," said Vicki Webb, a 2012 Canadian Olympic Trialist in the event.

"The energy is great. The help is great."

The National Scholastic Athletic Foundation's Project Javelin Gold, founded by javelin guru Jeff Gorski, has aimed to re-shape the ambitions of American javelin throwers. Gorski, the former Javelin Chairman for USA Track and Field, was deeply affected by his travels to Finland to learn about that country's javelin-throwing tradition. And in Finland's Javelin Carnival, Gorski found a full-blown celebration of the spear.

"(The American JavFest) is Jeff Gorski's baby," Cocalico PA javelin coach Scott Krall said.

The American JavFest aims to recreate Finland's carnival in eastern Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains.

Gorski, due to a health issue, did not attend.

But Krammes, a devotee of the event and a long-time disciple of Gorski's, has made a home for the event in an unlikely place.

"It was kind of the brainchild of the NSAF," Krammes said. "We had a camp here and I showed them the high school. … I wanted them to experience the Poconos. They kind of fell in love with that, too."

Here, among the slow-churn of rural life, javelin marks abound.

Last year, with 400 local people watching, Cyrus Hostetler and Ariana Ince qualified for the IAAF World Championships by securing their qualifying marks after both placing second at the USATF Outdoor Championships. 

On Friday, on the spacious path where a 500-pound black bear had recently been seen, Olathe North KS graduate Dana Baker broke the national senior class record with a mark of 180-10 (55.11m) to elevate to the No. 3 all-time prep performer and No. 4 in American U-20 history. STORY

Somehow, it fits. The town of 10,000 people has embraced Krammes -- a three-time Olympic Trials competitor -- and the NSAF's mission of heightening the sport.

"I've been saying this a long time, telling a lot of people: (If you want to improve) you need to slowly increase the number of events each year, and make them high-level events," said Furey, who said that top European javelin throwers typically compete in 20 high-level events each season.

"If we had 10 of these meets each year, the state of the javelin (in the United States) would be different."

The results Friday bore this out. The PR's flowed freely, with Baker and boys champion Marc Anthony Minichello notching bests. Minichello, from Wyoming Area PA, threw 213-5 (65.05m).

And it trickled down to the non-elites, with top marks among nearly every flight.

"I love the atmosphere," said Southeast Raleigh NC senior Roman Mitchell, a member of Project Javelin Gold and a Gorski protégé who finished second in 205-10 (62.74m).

"Everyone loves the event and you can really feel it on the runway."

Saturday's schedule included a clinic (following a round-table discussion of the javelin Friday night). Typically this is Gorski's domain. In his absence, Krammes, a regular NSAF lecturer and Furey, former elite-level competitors, passed on their knowledge.

"It's the fourth year we've had this under the umbrella of NSAF at East Stroudsburg South High School," Krammes said. "Jeff Gorski, the USATF Chairman, he's been doing this since the 1980s."

Added Krall, a highly respected coach in Pennsylvania: "I learned from Jeff. Obviously, Jeff learned from the Finns."

From its inkling in the Finnish tradition, the American JavFest has brought together great javelin throwers and mentors under one tent. 

On Sunday, New Jersey native Curtis Thompson, the defending national champion, along with other elites, were in contention.

For Gorski and Krammes, and those for whom the javelin is sacred, this was reason to celebrate.

"It kind of shows you if you bring some energy, bring some music, the right environment, what you can do for kids," Krammes said.