Ben Bonhurst and Toni Brown: NSAF Emerging Elites of the Week

Photos by John Nepolitan, ArmoryTrack.com (Bonhurst); Kyle Brazeil, NY.Milesplit.com (Brown action); Brown headshot submitted


Male: Ben Bonhurst, Smithtown West HS Class of 2014, Smithtown NY

Multiple performanes in Dec.-Jan., including US#1 64-1 SP

With a 61-11 best in 2013, Benjamin Bonhurst (Smithtown West, N.Y. senior) was the #7 U.S. shot putter coming back, so you figured you’d hear about him sooner or later if you were a prep throws fan.  But not too many expected so much, so soon.  In a four-meet stretch from Dec. 8 to Dec. 26, Bonhurst PR’d four times, starting at 62-0.5 and ending up at 64-1 – Boom-boom-boom-boom! 

The last of those was a victory at the North Shore Invite and no one could blame Bonhurst for dreaming of national titles, state records and beyond.  January has provided challenges; recovering from illness limited him to 59-0 at the Hispanic Games and 61-9.5 at Stanner, but he still won both to stay unbeaten.  He’s now chasing Derek McGuire’s state standard of 64-11.5 from 2004 for starters, then hopes to start making progress toward a New Balance Nationals Indoor title and, hopefully, new PRs in the mid-60s and beyond.

Bonhurst hasn’t been in the game long, not even two years.  But when he decided to give up baseball for track and field, he had a parent ready to give him some top-flight guidance.  His mom, Dr. Haidee Ganz-Bonhurst, was a standout putter at Syosset HS in New York, then Penn State back in the 1980s.  By Ben’s junior year, his mom was a coach at Smithtown West, helping all of the throwers.

We talked with Ben by phone after his victory at Stanner:

On his reaction to blasting through 62-, 63-, and 64-foot barriers so quickly, and whether he had imagined he could do it:  I was like ... ‘Damn!  I could actually do this, I could actually do some good things this winter!  My future’s looking pretty bright’ ... you know?
I had a couple of setbacks before the meets, but I knew I had it in me because I threw 61-11 at the end of the spring, and my training was going decent during the summer until the winter ... so it was pretty nice.

On what have been the training elements that he has focused on this fall and early winter to reach this new level:  I’ve really worked on my explosive lifting, doing a lot of box jumps, a lot of really fast twitch fiber stuff, a lot of sprints, stuff like that ... trying to get my legs quicker.  And as far as technical stuff (on his throws), I’ve trying to get up a little slower in the back and really explode through the front and really push the ball out ... be really patient with it ... then I just let it go, you know?
It’s all about taking a lot of time and having more patience to work at it ... you have to keep moving up inch by inch.

On health challenges coming in the Hispanic Games, but still being able to pull out the win:  I was sick for four days before the meet, and I was still kind of sick during the meet.  I had a 103-degree fever for 3-4 days; it was pretty bad.  I didn’t practice all week and just came in the meet to compete.  I wanted to prove to myself I could still win with the conditions I had.

On what he’s looking most forward to this winter:  I can’t wait for New Balance Nationals Indoor, because that’s my ultimate goal, to throw big at Nationals and beat the people I’ve been looking forward to throwing against, all last year and all this year.  I often think about what they’re doing and how hard they’re working.  I see videos on Facebook and if a kid’s benching 315 for 10, I’m like, “Damn, I need to step up my game and keep working hard at it.”
My dream goal is to break the record here ... if I had a PR of 66-67 feet before nationals, and am consistent around that, I might be able to pop a 70 by nationals.  My goal is to win.

On deciding to become a thrower, and early guidance and experiences:  One day after tryouts for baseball in 10th grade, I thought I’ve been playing baseball so long and I’m kind of bored of it. I was like, “I need to quit baseball, I’m just too tired of this.”  My mom said, “So why don’t you try track?”  I thought, “Yeah, I could throw the shot and I could always do what you did in high school and college.  That would be a great idea.”
My mom wasn’t coaching at first.  My coach in 10th grade was Coach Peter Cerullo.  He was a great person.  That year, he helped me out tremendously and my mom helped me out tremendously at home, as I was trying to learn the glide technique.
My first invitational I threw 38 feet, then I just worked my butt off until state qualifiers and I ended up throwing 49-10.5.  Working with my mom was great, getting my lifting in and everything like that.  It was just a great experience.  Then my mom became the coach my junior year.

On the benefits and challenges of having a parent as a coach:  It’s a bittersweet type of thing ... she helped me out tremendously in the beginning.  But she always pushes me in practice, helps me out with my technique.  It gets frustrating sometimes, when she’s telling me things and I’m like, “All right, I got it ... it kind of gets annoying sometimes, but definitely helps and keeps me focused, 24/7.  I love talking about it (throwing) sometimes, but want to get my mind off it sometimes, too.

On some of his inspirations and goals looking ahead to outdoor:  I really like watching Jacko Gill (World Junior and World Youth champ from New Zealand), he’s just a freak of nature.  I look up to the guy and hope to compete against him and maybe beat him some day.  My main goal outdoors is to get NY state records for shot (Walter Henning, 2007, 68-11.75) and discus (Andy Bloom, 1991, 202-9), but they’re very difficult.

On college plans:  I’m made visits; I’ve got two more officials.  I don’t know where they’re going to be yet ... I’ve been to Kentucky, TCU and Arizona.  A couple that are interested are FSU, Auburn and Kansas State.

 

Female: Toni Brown, Milford Mill Academy Class of 2014, Gwynn Oak MD

Multiple performances in Dec.-Jan., including US top 10 200/300/400

It’s not uncommon for girls to have outstanding success in track and XC well before they begin to mature.  But it didn’t really work out that way for Toni Brown.  The Milford Mill Academy (Gwynn Oak) senior had some quality performances early in her career, but not at the elite level.  Then as she started training harder, her body rebelled as she began to grow, resulting in real pain and injury.  But as this fall rolled around, Brown has finally been able to train as a mature athlete and begin to do what coaches had imagined she could do for some time now.

The results have been impressive, right off the bat.  At the Bishop Loughlin Games in December, she came in with a PR of 43.87 – and took 2nd in 39.47.  At the Hispanic Games, she nearly beat her 200 best from last summer and, even though she was relegated to the “varsity” section of the 400 (see below), she still took more than six seconds off her 400 PR with a 56.70 – winning that section and taking 2nd overall.  Finally, at last week’s Montgomery Invite on a flat track, she broke 40 again in the 300 (finishing a close third) and led a then-US#1 4x400 relay with her teammates at 3:57.23.

Brown, who’s never even run individually at a Maryland state meet before, now can dream not just of state titles, but national success as well.  We talked with her in the days between Hispanic Games and Montgomery:

On starting the season with a bang at Loughlin and whether or not she imagined she could run as fast as 39.47 for 300:  My coach has been pushing me tremendously hard this season.  He has been training me for and had predicted that I would run a 39.5.  The time seemed surreal to reach, but if my coach believed that I could do it, and by listening to everything he said, I didn't have room to doubt myself.  I simply pushed myself to practice hard.  Hence, running the 39.47 wasn't a surprise, just an outcome of all the hard work I’ve been putting in.

On the Hispanic Games 200 and 400, whether or not she had increased expectations after Loughlin, and why she wasn’t in the Hispanic Invite 400:  After Bishop Loughlin, I had set new goals in the 200, and 400 that I met at Hispanic Games.  I was actually scheduled to run in the Invite 400, but due to a mix-up for check-in times, I was unable to check in for that race.  I was automatically moved to the Varsity 400. 
I would have enjoyed running against the other elite athletes, such as Zola Golden (Invite winner); running in the same heat could have caused us to push each other and run even faster times than we did.  I am still satisfied with my first 400 time of the season, but there is definitely room for improvement.  I have set new goals and I will critically work on my technique to achieve them.

On physical issues that held her back before being able to break through this winter:  I struggled with injuries due to growing.  My muscles were straining to stretch as fast as my bones, causing me a lot of pain and hindering my development and progress on the track.  I was also injured by a fellow member of the track team, causing me to sit out most of my indoor season my junior year then only to return to once again growing pains. 
I never ran track prior to my outdoor season of my 9th grade year.  My middle school basketball coaches at Southwest Academy strongly suggested that I should try track in high school.  Switching from basketball to track was something my body had to adjust to, with the new strain and intensity on my muscles while having growth spurts.  Being that I am probably almost finished growing, and my body is a lot stronger than before, my times are dropping faster than ever.

On what she has been able to accomplish in training recently, finally being able to run with little or no pain:  This year I'm pushing my body to new limits that it has never reached before, training harder than ever.  My coach has adjusted the training to accompany my events, specifically helping me elevate my performance.  I have also been working on getting my body stronger by lifting in the gym with my father/trainer.  Practice is becoming harder and harder as the weeks progress, but my coach told me pain is temporary and pride is forever.  My diet is very strict; nutrition plays a big role this year to provide me with quality energy.

On new dreams for state and national competition:  My new goal at a state level is to continue to work hard and do things that I'm supposed to do to be a champion.  I want to push myself to run as fast as I can, no holding back.  I've never ran in the indoor state championships in the past for an individual race, however I did compete on the  wining 4x200m relay my sophomore year and on the 4x400m relay team.  I definitely look forward to competing at the Armory for the New Balance Nationals Indoor for 2014.

On college plans:  I am committed to UCONN and they will be providing me a scholarship.  There, I will major in the prestigious Nursing program.  Since Bishop Loughlin and Hispanic Games, a lot of universities have been contacting me and I am very thankful for the consideration.
 

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