Kern eager to make national championship debut
03/07/2017 | 3:41:00 | Track and Field
Kern comes into Friday's NCAA Indoor National Championships ranked No. 2 in the men's shot put.
Jared Kern will head to College Station, Texas for the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, beginning Friday, March 10, ranked No. 2 in the men's shot put, second only to Colorado State's Mostafa Hassan.
The Harlem (Ill.) High School product was a two-time state qualifier in the shot put in high school, and, after graduation, enrolled at Lincoln College, a junior college in Lincoln, Ill. Once there he earned All-America honors in his first-year with a fourth place finish in the shot, and the following season struck gold, winning the 2016 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) outdoor shot put title.
He picked right up where he left off after transferring to Southern Illinois University during the summer of 2016, as he broke the school indoor shot put record in his sixth meet as a Saluki and won his first conference title two weeks later. His performance at the conference meet was particularly impressive, as he broke SIU alum John Smith's 34-year old meet record with a toss of 62'-7.25" (19.08m).
Kern understands that no matter what meet he is throwing at, his approach must remain consistent.
"You can't really try to force anything," Kern said. "You have to be technical still. You can't let the hype and adrenaline get to you."
Being the favorite is nothing new to Kern, who went into the 2016 NJCAA Outdoor Championships in Levelland, Texas ranked No. 1. He more than lived up to his billing, as he bested the field by more than six inches to win his first national title.
Kern comes into Friday's competition having won four-straight event titles, and has led from start to finish in three of those four wins. He credits his events coach, J.C. Lambert, with putting an added emphasis on getting his first throw in so that he can set himself up for a bigger mark later in the series.
"(Coach Lambert) texted all of (the throwers) and said 'the first throw is for (him)', and I think he'd take it personally if I fouled or whiffed on the first throw," Kern said. "So I make sure the first throw is under control and technical so I can tee off on the next couple of throws and get the big one."
Kern and Lambert share a unique relationship, one of mutual respect and admiration. Kern feels that Lambert has been critical to his success while at SIU.
"I pretty much just listen to what Coach Lambert tells me to do," Kern said. "He's the brains of everything and I bought in really quickly to what he told me to do."
SIUÂ Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Kathleen Raske agrees that not only did Kern buy in quickly, but that his connection with Lambert is one of the reasons that the Machesney Park, Ill. native will head into the national meet as the likely favorite.
"(Jared) has just bought into Coach Lambert's training program," Raske said. "Coach Lambert is a great coach with a great eye for talent who has really helped Jared in all aspects of throwing. Jared deserves credit for his ability to be emotionally controlled and have great composure while in a competition, especially when throwing big. His consistency within his throws, meaning the amount of throws between 62-67 feet, is another reason that Jared is set up to go into College Station as the favorite."
The field for Friday's competition features five throwers who qualified for last year's indoor championships, including three returning All-Americans. Competition gets underway at 7:20 p.m. CST.
Players Mentioned
