T&F Preview: Men's Throws

Breaking down the Oregon track and field program by event groups entering the start of the indoor season (Jan. 14)

Head Coach Robert Johnson: "These guys are often the first ones to practice and the last ones to leave; they are a very hard-working crew. It has been fun to watch them continue to develop and mature with the senior leadership of Ryan (Hunter-Simms) and Cody (Danielson). I expect these guys to bring incredible depth for the Men of Oregon, especially come outdoors with the addition of our javelin crew."

SHOT PUT, WEIGHT THROW, HAMMER/DISCUS (OUTDOORS)

Who's back: Cullen Prena returns to compete in the weight throw during indoors after setting a PR at last year's Razorback Invitational with a mark of 59-1.25 (18.01m). He also competed in the shot put indoors in 2015. Outdoors, Prena will be a force in both the hammer throw and the discus, where he placed seventh and eighth at the Pac-12 Championships, respectively.

Ryan Hunter-Simms will return to join Prena for the Ducks this season as a senior. Hunter-Simms competed at the MPSF Indoor Championships in the shot put before redshirting in outdoors, and he was a scorer in the discus at the Pac-12 Championships in 2015.

Drake Brennan, a two-sport athlete who played football in the fall, competed in the shot put at both the UW Preview and the MPSF Championships last season indoors, and was a Pac-12 scorer outdoors with a seventh-place finish in the discus (172-0/52.43m).

Austin White will compete in the shot put in both indoors and outdoors. White competed at the UW Indoor Preview last season, finishing with a top throw of 51-2.75 (15.61m), and set a personal best outdoors at the Pepsi Invitational (56-1.25/17.10m). T.J. Brassil has not competed indoors yet in his career, but he set a PR in the shot put last season at the Oregon Twilight with a throw of 54-0 (16.46m).

Who's new: Highly-touted freshman Sebastian Barajas joins the fold for the Men of Oregon after a tremendous high school career at Hood River Valley High School in Oregon. Barajas won the discus at the 2016 OSAA 5A State Championships with a career-best throw of 200-0 (60.96m), and also placed second in the shot put with a long toss of 56-11.75 (17.36m). There will be a transition period for Barajas as he moves from the 12-pound shot he used in high school to the 16-pound shot at the collegiate level, but he certainly enters 2017 as one of the Ducks' most promising newcomers.

Redshirt freshman Max Lydum is set to make his Oregon debut after a high school career that saw him place eighth in the shot put at the 2014 OSAA 4A State Championships as a junior. Lydum spent his redshirt season last year training to throw the hammer. Austin Tharp will make his debut as a Duck after redshirting last season. Tharp will compete in the hammer throw and was the fourth-place finisher in the javelin at the state meet for Sheldon High School as a senior, and has experience in all of the throwing events.

JAVELIN (OUTDOORS)

Who's back: Cody Danielson leads this group as an All-American and the 2016 Pac-12 Champion in the javelin. Danielson competed at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials after placing seventh at the NCAA Championships, and will be counted on once again for points when the outdoor season begins.

John Nizich returns as an All-American after finishing 10th in the javelin at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last spring and as the runner-up to Danielson at the Pac-12 Championships. Jackson VanVuren also comes back after competing sparingly in outdoors last season. VanVuren threw at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, and will look to build a bigger role in his second year.