‘If I couldn’t get it in basketball, I’ve got to get it in track.’ Westside Christian’s Ben Lammers uses loss on the court as motivation en route to 3A boys javelin title
By Dan Brood
Back on March 4, at the Class 3A boys basketball state tournament at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, the Westside Christian High School team saw its dreams of a state championship slip away.
The Eagles, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, were edged 56-51 that night by eventual state champion Cascade Christian in a semifinal contest.
But as that state championship dream came to an end, another state championship dream was just beginning.
And this dream came true.
Westside Christian junior Ben Lammers, a 6-foot-3 junior center for the Eagles team that would take home the third-place trophy from the state basketball tournament while going 25-3 on the season, took state-title aspirations upon himself — starting right when the final horn sounded in that semifinal game.
“We actually lost in the state semifinal game, and, in that exact moment, I was like, ‘I want to get that state championship,’” Lammers said. “That was a big motivation. I said that if I couldn’t get it in basketball, I’ve got to get it in track.”
Mission accomplished.
Lammers saw his state-championship dreams come to fruition, as he triumphed in the javelin competition at the Class 3A track and field championships Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene.
“This is big,” a smiling Lammers said after receiving his championship medal. “I’ve been working really hard in the offseason, and in the season, trying to build up, build up to this exact moment.”
Lammers, highly motivated to get that state championship for more than two months, got off to a strong start to Friday’s javelin competition. His first two throws went 156 feet, 11 inches, and 154-10, putting him more than 14 feet ahead of the rest of the field.
“I like to try to get one out there in my first couple throws,” Lammers said. “I like to get a comfortable cushion, and then, from there, just let go with all of my energy.”
Going to the finals, Lammers’ top mark of 156-11 in the preliminaries gave him a nearly seven-foot lead over Warrenton junior Hunter Xochipiltec, who had a throw of 151-0 in his third attempt.
It didn’t take Lammers long to lengthen his lead.
In his first attempt of the finals, Lammers had a throw of 160-2. He bettered that with his next attempt, which sailed 160-11. That turned out to be the winning mark.
“The first couple throws were in the 150, 155 range, and I was aiming for 170 today. But in the finals, I got a 160-11, and I’m OK with that,” Lammers said. “It felt great. I was like, ‘OK, OK.’ I wanted 170, because the school record is 168, but I’m very happy.”
How would this compare to a basketball state championship?
“It’s more singular (than basketball),” Lammers said. “It’s my training that paid off, and it feels great.”
For Lammers, it feels so great that he’s already looking ahead to his senior season.
“I’m going to be training hard in the offseason, getting stronger,” he said. “This place is amazing. It’s the first time I’ve thrown at Hayward. It’s a beautiful facility, and I can’t wait to throw here next year, too.”
Xochipiltec placed second with his throw of 151-0. Santiam Christian junior Caleb Ness was third with a throw of 146-10.
In addition to his victory in the javelin, Lammers finished in third place in the shot put with a mark of 46-1, and he took seventh in the discus with a throw of 111-1.
Westside Christian finished in 11th place in the boys team standings with 25 points. Lammers accounted for 18 of those points.
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