We had a good day at McHenry with temps around 85-90 but with a steady breeze and no rain all day! We threw the stone and both weights on the lower part of the lower field (inside the fence) and there was virtually no slope. We threw the hammer from the top field and had a ridiculous slope, but the box rising so fast in front of you made many people change their technique - and even choke up on the handle to keep from hitting the ground while simultaneously trying not to fall over backwards - so the results were similar to what you would hit on level ground!
I battled with Stephen Malutich all day, and I'll have to say that he was the better thrower, but just couldn't master the sheaf. More important to me was seeing how much he has grown as a man over the past couple of years. It was a real privilege to share the field with him on Saturday, and now I can truly say that I wish him luck as he moves up the ranks.
I know that Tim Forrester got a couple of nice PR's in the weights and Pat Parker showed that he can still pull a tough caber. Overall it was a good day and more folks should plan on coming back next year.
This was my first win in a couple of years...and I didn't know if it would ever happen again after the knee surgeries...but just being able to compete with a good group was the bast part.