Boys track and field preview: Keller is breaking more than windows now

It has been an unlikely journey, a two-year trek from javelin novice to one of the best high school throwers in the nation.

Athletes to watch

Grayson Anderson, so., Mountain View; Kevin Boyd, sr., Skyview; Albert Chon, sr., Skyview; Dylan Croeni, sr., Washougal; Jon Lawson, sr., Prairie; Brad Michael, sr., Skyview; James Oman, sr., Ridgefield; David Reinhardt, Battle Ground; Ryan Stanford, jr., Union; Jacob Troupe, sr., Union.

Overview

In the 4A Greater St. Helens League, Skyview is going for its sixth consecutive league title and fifth consecutive district title. Skyview gets a boost by getting Ellis Henderson, who had played baseball in previous springs at Skyview. But the Storm will get some strong competition from Union. Troupe is a state contender in the high jump. The 3A GSHL appears to be a tighter battle. Lawson is a state contender in the throws for Prairie. Mountain View’s Anderson has posted a mark of 6-6 in the high jump. In 2A, Croeni has the area’s second-best mark this season in the 3,200. At 1A, Ridgefield moves down with a solid lineup, led by Oman, who trails only Lawson in the region in the shot put and is No. 3 in the discus.

But Sean Keller did display some talent for the event at an early age.

“My mom said as I was growing up, I liked to throw a lot of stuff,” said Keller, a junior at Heritage High School. “We had to replace a lot of windows.

“But I’ve only been around javelin since my freshman year. I was like, ‘They have that here?’ ”

Yes, they have the javelin in high school track and field in Washington. And Keller has made the event his personal playground.

He won a district title last year, then finished third at the Class 4A state meet with a mark of 191 feet, 5 inches. Early in the summer of 2010, he reached 200 feet for the first time.

Now, Keller is making the 200-foot mark appear routine. And his top distance of 206 feet, 5 inches, is tied for the best in the state this season.

But Keller’s aspirations go far beyond that.

“My main goal is to win state now, because I didn’t expect to get third in state last year,” he said. “My goal is each meet to PR (personal record) by at least 2-3 feet, which comes from working harder in practice.

“By the end of the year, I should be throwing 220.”

That would be a big improvement. And as a relative newcomer to the javelin, Keller is still learning the nuances of the event.

“Looking at the details, that’s where we’re at with Sean,” Heritage track coach Russ Weaver said. “You can’t muscle the javelin at all; it’s all technique. You can’t show up at meets and be a big guy and just throw it out there.”

A muscular 6 feet, 185 pounds, Keller still is grappling with his technique. He works with coach Scott Halley at the Concordia University International Throw Center; and he has exchanged e-mails with Olympian Kara Patterson, a Skyview graduate who is the U.S. women’s record holder in the event.

It’s all part of developing his burgeoning talent.

“Sean came into the season wanting to improve,” said Chelsea Glavin, the throws coach at Heritage. “I think anybody who has that can improve. The sky’s the limit as long as he works hard.

“The key is keeping your arm back; it’s like a whip. Javelin throwers are a different breed of thrower. It’s all in the hips, it’s not like a baseball throw.”

Through the early part of this season, Keller’s 206-5 has been matched in Washington by only Curtis Clauson of King’s High School in Shoreline. Keller is expected to compete against Clauson at the Battle of Shoreline invitational meet on May 6, but he won’t face the Class 1A thrower at state.

“I want to get into a college by using this, because not everybody has the ability to throw this far,” Keller said.

In the meantime, Keller is focusing on making incremental improvements.

As Weaver said: “He has a lot of potential. I’m here to tell you, he can pop a 220 if he has the right day.”