PHOTO Courtesy of World Athletics

Eugene, OR - Kayden Hulet (Debbie Smith CTE Academy, Reno, NV) had a lot of motivation heading into the World U20 Championship hammer throw final. He had won the USATF U20 and Nike Outdoor National Championships, but the competition took on a whole new meaning for several reasons.

“It was definitely the most intense competition that I’ve done. There were all these crazy hammer throwers, and what really motivated me a little bit was that there were a bunch of college throw coaches watching that didn’t want to recruit me. It was cool to beat their athletes that were there,” he said by phone from Eugene after watching the discus qualifying on Saturday. “The whole goal going from National U20s to World U20s was to be able to match my 6k where my 12-pound was at the time. I beat my 12-pound mark, that’s for sure. That’s what I was looking for.”

Those college coaches couldn’t be blamed for missing out on such a hot prospect like Hulet. After competing in the shot put and discus his sophomore year, he picked up the weight throw his junior year, setting an unremarkable best of 16.68 (54’ 8 ¾”).

It was his coach Michael Hambrick who introduced Hulet to the weight throw. Hambrick had credentials: he was a two-time NCAA top ten finisher in the discus, a 14-time Masters National Champion in the discus, weight and super weight throws and a Slippery Rock University (PA) Hall of Fame inductee. At the time, Hambrick, who worked with Jordan Geist in high school, was training for the weight throw.

“One day, he said, ‘You want to throw it someday?’ I replied, I guess so. I think the first time I threw it, I threw the 25 lb weight 45 feet,” Hulet recalls. “Immediately afterwards he said, ‘ This is going to end up being your best thing.’ I don’t know how he could tell from that, but he was right, I guess.”

NSAF Throws Program Manager, Barry Krammes, caught sight of Hulet early on. In his research for the NSAF, he saw big weight throw marks coming from the unknown senior in the indoor season. Like Hambick, Krammes saw the quickness and agility Hulet had from videos he saw on the internet and invited him to Nike Indoor Nationals.

“It’s just something I saw. You could see the fast-twitch muscles at work as he moved through the ring,” said Krammes. “After speaking to him and his parents, I could tell this was a guy who really had all the qualities of being great. He worked really hard and was dedicated. It’s just not marks I look at. It’s that commitment and the work ethic.”

Hulet took full advantage of his East Coast trip in March. He won the New Balance Indoors Nationals in Boston, MA with a personal best and US #2 26.45 (86’ 9 ½”) on Saturday, March 14, and then traveled to New York on Sunday, March 15, and won the Nike Indoor Nationals with a 25.91 (85’ 0 ¼”), which was also a top ten all-time US high school indoor mark.

Weight throw and hammer usually don’t go together. Rarely is there a thrower that is good at both. Hulet is one of those rarities. He credits his previous sports for the power and agility he needs in both events.

“I feel like I got a lot of athletic ability from playing a bunch of sports growing up. I played soccer for six years. I played basketball, and wrestled,” he said. “I loved lifting weights. I did box jumps and plyometric drills a lot. When I was a little lighter, I had a 38” vertical. Though I am heavier now, I can still dunk from two feet under the basket.”

That’s quite remarkable for the 6’ 1” 250-pounder. He can also do a back flip.

“I did one a little while ago, so it’s confirmed,” he said assuredly. “ I just always liked jumping because of basketball.”

He feels a connection with the weight throw and hammer instruments. That agility and power he developed is what he feels gives him the edge over others.

“My technique is decent, but I haven’t been throwing long enough to know,” he said. “I just have a natural feel and connection to the ball where I get a really good counter on it. I think my explosiveness makes me able to accelerate the ball.”

Hulet entered Friday’s final competition with the fourth-best mark in qualifying, a 72.83 (238’ 11”), which was just shy of his Nike Outdoor National winning mark of 72.87 (239’1”). He moved on to the finals with the third-best throw and personal best, 73.71 (241’10”). Had he not gotten that mark on the third throw, he would have been out of the final. He trailed Jiawei Chen of China (78.47, 257’ 5”) and Great Britain’s Wyatt Larkins (75.38, 247’3”). Chen had set the World U20 leading mark in the qualifying with a monster 80.39 (263'9").

Before the final three rounds, Hulet had a few warm-up throws that gave him an indication that he was capable of much more.

“My first warm-up throw was real far. I don’t know how far, but it was quite a bit past the 75 meter line.”

He fouled in the fourth round. He  then changed his mindset in the fifth and sixth rounds.

“I didn’t really know what was happening. Something was going wrong,” he said. “ It helped me to just not think about anything technical and just think about throwing honestly. My body knows better than my mind, I guess.”

Hulet inched closer to Larkins with this fifth-round throw of 74.68 (245’0”), another personal best. Chen remained comfortably in the lead.

Throwing fourth in the order, Hulet needed a big throw to move up in the sixth round. He produced a 77.56 (254’5”), which broke Rudy Winkler’s(Averill Park, NY) high school record of 75.89 (249’0”) set in 2013 and surpassed the 12 lb mark of 261’7” set by Trey Knight(Ridgefield, WA) set in 2020.

Larkins fouled on the next throw, giving Hulet the silver. Chen, who was already in the lead, extended his winning mark in final round throw to 79.16 (259’8”).

“I just went hard and finally got a good release. I knew I could throw that far, and I executed, but I barely stayed in the ring and almost scratched. My feet were super close to the edge. My foot actually came over the edge, but didn’t touch it,” he said. “ I had been leaning down on my release instead of following through on my release, so I got that corrected on my final throw. It felt good to be here and contribute to Team USA. If you had asked me a year ago, I wouldn’t have told you I would be good at hammering, but I’ve always had an expectation for myself. I’ve always been good at getting good at things fast for whatever reason. When I start something, I really take it seriously and try to become the best that I can.”

Now he’ll have a short break before flying to Oxford, MS to join the Ole Miss Rebels on August 19. Ole Miss got the inside scoop early on Hulet as throws coach John Smith and Coach Hambrick knew each other. Hulet got the invite to visit in the fall that other college coaches were not willing to give though he e-mailed them that he was throwing 80 meters in practice. With all the fanfare of the football-crazed South, he didn’t attend a football game while there; that was not what the Ole Miss staff felt was part of their program, Hulet said. He liked the atmosphere and the staff and he’ll get to work with NCAA Champion Tarik Robinson- O’Hagan, which he is excited about.

He doesn’t feel he'll have much time before the college indoor season begins. In college, he’ll focus on the hammer, of course, but with a personal best of 63.72 (209’1”), he’ll keep throwing the discus.

“I'll still throw the discus, though the hammer will be my priority, “ he said. “ I finished US #6 in the discus, so I am really good at it. For now, I have a little bit of time before the indoor season, so I’ll be preparing for that once I get to Oxford.”