Page 8
THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, MARCH G, 1974
A&M’s Bill Newton dreams of competing in Olympics
By JERRY JOHNSON
“If he were in Europe, they’d
have him in a national camp. He
wouldn’t be going to school or do
ing anything but throwing the
javelin.”
Those are the words of Randy
Matson when asked to comment
on Bill Newton, the javelin throw
er for the A&M track team.
“He’d be under the guidance
of a national,” Matson continued.
“They start their athletes over
there at age six and if they show
promise, they’re put in a camp
to work on their specialty.”
Newton shows promise. He be
gan to work with the javelin as
a high school freshman. “The
coach took the people interested
in track out and tried us at each
event. On my first throw ever
with the javelin, I broke the ex
isting school record,” Newton said
with a grin.
Obviously, Newton is not from
Texas if he throws the javelin.
“I’m from Haven, Kansas. It’s
one of the twenty states in the
nation where they throw the jav
elin,” Newton explained. Others
include California, Oregon and
Washington in the west, Arizona
in the south and New Jersey in
the east.
He was undefeated in high
school competition as a senior. “I
think I was ranked sixth or sev
enth in the nation. I was selected
to throw at Golden West which
is a big meet in California. I
placed second there, three inches
behind the winner.”
Although the javelin is a field
event, it is not a weight event.
“It’s not like the shot put or the
discus. The javelin is a power
event. To be successful, you have
to transfer your speed and
strength into the throw. It’s sim
ilar to pitching a baseball.” New
ton stressed that he aims at a
point in the sky and tries to throw
the javelin point through there.
“On a good throw, the tail will
follow through the same place.”
Assistant track coach Ted Nel
son pointed out that Newton’s
“want to” is his greatest asset.
“The javelin is an individual
event. Most of the work is done
on your own,” Nelson explained.
“A thrower has to really want
to improve himself. That's one of
the reasons for Newt’s good po
tential.”
“Here in practice, I throw in
the sticks (on the intramural
fields behind Kyle Field). But in
the big meets, we throw right in
the middle of the track,” Newton
said. “We take films at the meets
and at practice to see what I’m
doing right or wrong.”
This is Newton’s second year
in A&M and his second of com
petition in the Southwest Con
ference. “I finished fourth in the
conference last year with a throw
of 220 feet. A guy from Rice won
the championship with a throw of
233 feet.” Coach Nelson said New
ton’s best throw ever came in a
dual meet last year. “He threw
232 feet against Baylor. That’s
just four feet short of Marc
Black’s school record.
In the first two outdoor meets
of 1974, Newton had a first and
second place finish. “At the sec
ond meet, I threw against last
year’s high school national
champ. He’s at Tulane now. That’s
the meet I got second in.”
“At this point this season,
Newt’s way ahead of last year,”
Coach Nelson noted. “He wasn’t
hitting these distances until about
the last of April.” His first place
toss this year was 217 feet
against Rice.
Matson said that one reason
for this was the fact that no
one he’s ever seen works as hard
as Newton. “He’ll ask me during
the week if I’m going to work
out on the weekend. If I do, he’ll
be there. With most guys, you
have to beat them with a stick
just to get them to work out at
all.” Matson is also working with
Newton on the fundamentals of
putting the shot and throwing the
discus.
Newton explained, “My major
is physical education. When I
graduate. I’d like to coach the
weight events on the college lev
el.” Matson said that of the three
top weight coaches, only one was
a weight man. The other two were
sprinters.
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Matson commented that New
ton has the dedication to work
hard and perfect his fundamen
tals. This, he said, will make him
a good coach because he will ex
pect the same from the people he
works with.
“Before that, I’d like to go to
the Olympics. That’s the ultimate
in track,” Newton said. On this,
Matson, who has been there, said,
“Bill could just do it because he
thinks about the Olympics every
day.”
The world record in the javelin
is 308 feet and 8 inches by Klaus
Wolferman of West Germany was
set at the last (’72) Olympics.
As for this year’s goals, New
ton said he thinks he could throw
260 feet, without injuries and
good weather withstanding. “The
injuries a javelin thrower sus
tains are similar to the ones that
happen to a pitcher. You could
Jmll a muscle anytime or strain
your arm ligaments. It’s also like
throwing a football. You have to
plant both feet when you throw
or you could wreck your back.”
The weather here is one of the
reasons Newton came to A&M.
“Anywhere else it would be cold
now and I couldn’t be throwing
outside. Also, this place is pretty
and the people are friendly.”
Newton said that, contrary to
what most people think, the point
of the spear does not have to stick
for the throw to count. “In fact
most of the officials don’t realize
that. The best thro\vs land almost
flat on the ground. In important
competition, the officials will be
there at the point of impact. The
throw is marked where the point
hits.”
Some of the fundamentals New
ton pointed out include no limit
to his run before the throw and a
toe board he has to throw from
behind. In competition, the con
testants get three throws and the
winner is determined by the best
throw.
The javelin has changed in
some ways like any other sport.
Newton explained, “Now we have
Tartan runways at some meets
and special javelin shoes. The
javelin itself is virtually the
same. It has been tapered differ
ent and the substance it’s made
from has changed. The best are
made of Swedish steel.”
Matson said he thinks the jat.
elin is one of the toughest eventi
in track and field to master. “Ti
throw it, you have to have almoit
perfect timing. You have a fas
approach and then you twist youi
body and hurl that light speara
far as you can. It’s not a natural
action of the body and it reallj
takes some time to master it"
And Bill Newton just continuesta
work by himself in the sticks aai
think of the Olympics.
ii
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