- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,130,514
- Reaction score
- 59
Lucas Honner won his second consecutive boys Class AA javelin state championship on Thursday, May 28, but he still wasn't totally happy after the showing.
The Sioux Falls Lincoln senior wanted to close out his high school career with a bang. He was looking to break his own personal and state record by a foot and hit a 200-foot throw.
Instead, he was forced to settle for 188 feet, 4 inches, one inch off the state meet record he set last year. It was still good for first place in 2026 by 4 feet, 2 inches.
"It honestly didn't go like I wanted it to," Honner said. "I wanted 200 feet. I definitely wanted to break my state record from last year. It's kind of OK, I guess."
Honner felt the conditions were slightly playing against him, as the wind killed a few of his throws. On a hot and muggy day, that was about all that held the senior back.
"My run up really felt good, then as soon as I released it, it looked good," Honner said. "Then it kind of died in the air, like it got caught up in the wind. I definitely could have done better trying to throw lower."
Emily Henry, Honner's javelin coach at Lincoln, made sure to stress to him that it was still an impressive feat even though the final number wasn't what he was gunning for.
"I know the distance wasn't what he wanted, but I'm just proud of him," Henry said. "He's a back-to-back state champ, and that's super cool."
Henry is finishing her first season as the javelin coach at Lincoln. She admitted she was intimidated having Honner, a state-record holder and defending state champion, as one of her first athletes.
That was amplified after the first meet of the season, when he set the state record with a 199-foot throw.
"The first meet of the year he set a state record and we'd only been at practice for a week," Henry said. "I was like, 'I can't take any credit for anything that kid has done.' He's worked his butt off and I'm really proud of him."
Honner didn't begin throwing until his sophomore season of high school. He admitted he wasn't a tremendously fast sprinter, and was suggested to pick up a javelin. After one season of being somewhat average, he took off.
The Lincoln senior credits a large part of his success to work in the weight room between seasons. It also helped him as a tight end on the football team, but the javelin success also followed.
"My form has definitely improved, but that's not the reason I'm PR'ing like I am," Honner said. "I really got bigger between my sophomore and junior year and my junior and senior year, and that helps me throw well."
Track and field can be a sport dominated by athletes who have specialized in certain events for years. Javelin is no exception to that, but Honner is.
"He's just a natural," Henry said.
This season has been full of dominant wins for Honner, aside from the Howard Wood Dakota Relays. That has meant lots of days where he has to motivate himself to do his best, especially in adverse conditions.
He has taken to it, though, and made sure he's always at his best when his name is called to throw.
"I like being first because you get to throw last during the event," Honner said. "That's the biggest deal to me. You kind of want to get motivated by having good people around you. When you're the best, it's kind of hard for me to throw how I do."
Henry noted Honner has gotten frustrated at times that he's not able to push his personal best or get consistent competition in South Dakota. But she feels his consistency in 2026 has been another impressive sign of growth, even if it's not coming at the highest end of his capabilities.
"He had a PR by 15 feet to win last year's state meet, and now he's consistently throwing in the 170s and 180s," Henry said. "That top mark might not be moving, but you're very consistently at that mark. So you're getting better, and that's pretty impressive regardless."
Honner is going to the University of Sioux Falls next year to play football, and he's hoping the opportunity will arise for him to also throw javelin for the track and field team.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls Lincoln's Lucas Honner wins second straight javelin title
Continue reading...
The Sioux Falls Lincoln senior wanted to close out his high school career with a bang. He was looking to break his own personal and state record by a foot and hit a 200-foot throw.
Instead, he was forced to settle for 188 feet, 4 inches, one inch off the state meet record he set last year. It was still good for first place in 2026 by 4 feet, 2 inches.
"It honestly didn't go like I wanted it to," Honner said. "I wanted 200 feet. I definitely wanted to break my state record from last year. It's kind of OK, I guess."
Honner felt the conditions were slightly playing against him, as the wind killed a few of his throws. On a hot and muggy day, that was about all that held the senior back.
"My run up really felt good, then as soon as I released it, it looked good," Honner said. "Then it kind of died in the air, like it got caught up in the wind. I definitely could have done better trying to throw lower."
Emily Henry, Honner's javelin coach at Lincoln, made sure to stress to him that it was still an impressive feat even though the final number wasn't what he was gunning for.
"I know the distance wasn't what he wanted, but I'm just proud of him," Henry said. "He's a back-to-back state champ, and that's super cool."
Henry is finishing her first season as the javelin coach at Lincoln. She admitted she was intimidated having Honner, a state-record holder and defending state champion, as one of her first athletes.
That was amplified after the first meet of the season, when he set the state record with a 199-foot throw.
"The first meet of the year he set a state record and we'd only been at practice for a week," Henry said. "I was like, 'I can't take any credit for anything that kid has done.' He's worked his butt off and I'm really proud of him."
Honner didn't begin throwing until his sophomore season of high school. He admitted he wasn't a tremendously fast sprinter, and was suggested to pick up a javelin. After one season of being somewhat average, he took off.
The Lincoln senior credits a large part of his success to work in the weight room between seasons. It also helped him as a tight end on the football team, but the javelin success also followed.
"My form has definitely improved, but that's not the reason I'm PR'ing like I am," Honner said. "I really got bigger between my sophomore and junior year and my junior and senior year, and that helps me throw well."
Track and field can be a sport dominated by athletes who have specialized in certain events for years. Javelin is no exception to that, but Honner is.
"He's just a natural," Henry said.
This season has been full of dominant wins for Honner, aside from the Howard Wood Dakota Relays. That has meant lots of days where he has to motivate himself to do his best, especially in adverse conditions.
He has taken to it, though, and made sure he's always at his best when his name is called to throw.
"I like being first because you get to throw last during the event," Honner said. "That's the biggest deal to me. You kind of want to get motivated by having good people around you. When you're the best, it's kind of hard for me to throw how I do."
Henry noted Honner has gotten frustrated at times that he's not able to push his personal best or get consistent competition in South Dakota. But she feels his consistency in 2026 has been another impressive sign of growth, even if it's not coming at the highest end of his capabilities.
"He had a PR by 15 feet to win last year's state meet, and now he's consistently throwing in the 170s and 180s," Henry said. "That top mark might not be moving, but you're very consistently at that mark. So you're getting better, and that's pretty impressive regardless."
Honner is going to the University of Sioux Falls next year to play football, and he's hoping the opportunity will arise for him to also throw javelin for the track and field team.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls Lincoln's Lucas Honner wins second straight javelin title
Continue reading...
