Taylor comes up big in Boise

Earns all-American honors Successfully defending his all-American status last Friday at the NCAA track and field championships in Boise, Idaho, junior javelin thrower John Taylor has led the Penn men's track team to the highest echelons of national competition. After breaking Penn's javelin record this season and placing first in a stellar IC4A conference meet, Taylor became an all-American for the second time at the NCAA's. Taylor placed fifth among the American competitors. With intensified competition from international collegiate throwers, Taylor finished ninth overall. "It feels great to be an all-American," Taylor said. "I improved a lot from last year, and I had an average throw." Defeating anyone and everyone he lost to in the regular season, Taylor finished as the top thrower in the east. Taylor threw 68.90 meters (226 feet, two inches) amid tough competition. The first-place finisher set the NCAA championship meet record. At last year's NCAA meet, Taylor placed eighth among Americans and finished thirteenth overall. Looking towards his next big meet this season, he is in better position than last year to garner a top-10 American ranking again. "If he were the nationally tenth-ranked basketball player, he would be making millions of dollars," assistant coach Nathan Taylor said. Next, Taylor is headed to the U.S.A. Track and Field championships in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 18th, where he will seek a berth among the top athletes in the country. "This is the toughest competition any Penn athlete has faced," Nathan Taylor said. "He is competing against national champions, record holders, and olympians." The competition is only for Americans, but is not limited to collegians. The USATF is the largest meet in the United States. Last year he placed eighth at the meet and earned a tenth place ranking in the U.S.. "Making the finals last year was big," Taylor said. "I beat a lot of people who didn't want to be beat. I want to go through again and break the top eight, maybe win a metal." Taylor is hoping that he will be able to improve on last year as he sets his eyes on making the U.S. olympic team. "He has the potential to hit a big throw -- farther than he has been throwing," assistant coach Nathan Taylor said. The keys to an improved throwing performance will be rigorous practices until the meet. Taylor has been training with the best, the current American recordholder-- a 1992 olympian. Penn coach Charlie Powell will accompany Taylor to Knoxville. Perfecting his technique will be the focus of the coming weeks; split second timing from the run to the throw can make the difference between average and top-10 distance. "I've had a couple technical problems," Taylor said. "I have to try to get my timing down... you can lose distance if you are not connecting your hips to your hand after the run-- I am throwing too soon." "I'm at a plateau," Taylor continued. "People say I am throwing great now, but I have higher standards. People ahead of me are throwing 260 to 270 feet. I have to stay focused." Plagued by injuries in the beginning of the year, Taylor lost months of training time but is confident in his ability to improve, even at the last moment. He is ready to have the biggest meet of his career. "I've had an up and down season," Taylor said. "It's frustrating, but then something is going to kick in and you're satisfied... In the javelin I've seen guys throw twenty feet farther in the same day," Taylor said. "In one meet I threw 186 feet then 240." Incidentally, last year's third-place medalist at the USATF meet threw just under 240 feet. "I feel really good," Taylor said. "Being around those kinds of throwers improves your performance to a higher level. It is a real treat going against those guys, seeing how they stack up." Much of the selection for the U.S. Olympic festival, the Goodwill games and other national teams occurs at the USATF meet. Taylor is hoping for a place on the U.S. Olympic team, if not the for the coming Olympics, then in 2000, when he will be 27. "27 is young for the javelin," Taylor said. "I'm probably the youngest in the top-10 right now." Although one may soon be watching Taylor represent the country as well as Penn, one of his biggest goals remains at his alma mater. "I want to crush the school record," Taylor said. "I want to see it out there where no one will ever touch it."