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By Gene Schallenberg
Staff Reporter

June 09, 2009 12:30 am

— Sam Houston State junior Chris Cralle has been in this situation before, getting as many practice throws in before he and five other Bearkats, leave for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which begin on Wednesday.
Things didn’t go so well for Cralle the first time around. Now he has a chance to erase what happened in Des Moines, Iowa last year when he finshed 24th and failed to qualify for the finals. But Cralle is once again in the national championships with another opportunity in the hammer throw.
Cralle will try to take that first step when he competes in the qualifying round on Wednesday morning at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark.
“It is fun to compete and watch other people compete,” Cralle said on Friday after practice. “I don’t think I’m at a level where I can do anything right now to be honest. It’s just good to see people competing and be where you want to be. You’re not at that level yet, but you see other people and what it takes for them to be at that level. You have a better understanding of it all.”
Cralle improved quite a bit from his sophomore season thanks in part to coach Andy Fryman, who was an All-America thrower at Kentucky.
The junior thrower has already improved more than 12 feet heading into the championships. Cralle comes in with the 13th best throw at nearly 215 feet.
“With Chris, he’s a special kid,” said Fryman, who placed eighth at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw. “He’s very dedicated to the sport and he’s a student of the sport. He wants to learn as much as possible. He absorbs things like a sponge. I think he really has a passion for throwing the hammer.
“I’ve never seen so much desire out of one person to try to be so good. He’s really hard on himself. I think he’s accomplished a lot for the year. At times, when I think he’s looking OK, he doesn’t feel the same way. That’s just the way he is. I think that’s really the heart of the champion when you’re always wanting more.”
Cralle has shown improvement every year he has thrown for the Bearkats and he credits his newness to the sport for that.
“I think it’s easier for me than for other people because I haven’t been doing it this long,” Cralle said. “This is only my third year in the hammer. The improvement is easy because I’m at a younger age. If you’re in a sport for long enough, improving becomes much harder because you can only get so much better.”
After all the hard work that has gone into this year, all that’s left to do is for Cralle to go out and put out a solid effort. If nothing else, Cralle just hopes to have a better performance.
“I didn’t do too well last year,” Cralle said. “Hopefully I can do a little better this time around.”
His throwing coach certainly believes so.
“Just by seeing how much of a perfectionist he is, I definitely think this year can be different for him,” Fryman added.

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