Will Conwell looks ahead to 2012 Games

EUGENE, Ore. — Inside a meet this enormous, where all of the focus is on who is going to Beijing, away from the medals podium and out of the headlines, are other stories of success.

Stories like Will Conwell's.

He didn't finish in the top three in Sunday's discus final. He didn't earn a trip to Beijing, but he served notice that he's going to be a force in his sport.

After getting some words of inspiration in the morning from his uncle, former Husky and longtime NFL tight end Ernie Conwell, Will made it through the first three throws, beating three-time Olympian John Godina, and finished sixth in the competition with a best throw of 202-7.

"I'm feeling really good about what happened out there," said Conwell, 25, of Club Northwest. "To place sixth today was amazing and to have all my family come down just made it that much more special. I'm very happy with the way this is heading and I plan on being here for 2012. I've got plenty of time."

For the past three years, Conwell's has been working with three-time Olympian Aretha Thurmond, who won last weekend's women's discus, and her husband, Washington throws coach Reedus Thurmond. Conwell helps Reedus as a volunteer coach, and in return gets the valued advice of Team Thurmond.

"It's a great team," Conwell said. "Reedus gives me advice face-to-face and we throw together every day. And then I put my videos on You Tube and Aretha watches the videos and calls me up and tells me what she thinks of them.

"Reedus was in the stands giving me some great advice today and when you take all of the advice from both of them and put it all together, you have good days like today."

Conwell won't be going to Beijing, but he will be throwing this summer in Greece, Morocco and the Czech Republic.

Former Washington State thrower Ian Waltz, a two-time national champion, who lives in Chula Vista, Calif., won the competition with a throw of 216-10. With family and friends watching, Waltz out-threw second-place finisher Michael Robinson by 7 feet.

The 2004 Olympic trials champion, Jarred Rome from Marysville, who finished third in the USA Outdoors meets in 2006 and 2007, finished 11th out of 12 at 193-5. Just ahead of him in 10th was Washington State's Matt Lamb at 194-10.

Note

• The timing couldn't have been worse. In the middle of May, with her entire season, the Olympic trials and Beijing within her grasp, Ginny Powell felt her hamstring go pop.

The defending national champion and two-time NCAA champion hurdler from Rainier Beach and USC had no choice but to cut down her training and wait out her injury.

But time was cruel to her, and despite fighting through three difficult heats against probably the deepest 100-meter hurdle field in U.S. history, Powell couldn't make it to Beijing.

She finished sixth in 12.74. The gold medalist, Lolo Jones, finished in 12.29.