By Nick Sallack
Picture an athlete at the top of his game, an athletic discipline where the contestants hurl a sharp piece of metal over 200 feet. Furthermore, he is currently a champion in this event in the tough Big Ten. And he??s also something of an outdoorsman??a wildlife sciences major, Eagle scout, and avid cyclist. Have a mental image?
It probably doesn??t look like Allen Pettner.
But maybe this unassuming nature is what makes the senior so good. Assistant Coach Drew Hardyk describes him as ??just a normal-looking kid with a cannon (for an arm)??. His former coach. Mark Gottdenker, now at UMass, concurs. ??He??s a pretty laid-back kid.?? Clearly, it??s Pettner??s will to make himself the best that he can be that sets him apart from his competition. ??I tell myself, anything I want to do, I can do it,?? says Pettner. ??I tell other people that anything you want to do, you can do it if you work hard enough at it.??
It??s obvious that hard work is a prerequisite when going from the ranks of junior college competition to the top of the Big Ten. It also requires a great deal of mental toughness. According to Pettner, in his sophomore year at Hagerstown (Maryland) Community College, he considered not throwing at all. However, he was persuaded to keep at it by a new coach, former University of Maryland football player Andy Reid.
Something must have clicked. He threw over 200 feet at the national championship meet and was named a second team NJCAA All-American. After this breakout season, Pettner searched for a new stage to display his talents in NCAA competition. He looked as far away as the University of Wyoming. Division II schools in Pennsylvania were chomping at the bit to get him on their team. Although Pettner had not considered Penn State as an option coming out of high school, he made a call to then-Head Coach Harry Groves.
The consummate coach and recruiter got Pettner to visit the campus. Coach Groves promised an opportunity to earn a spot on the team. More importantly, he was patient enough to allow Pettner to finish his academic obligations at Hagerstown. He was sold on Penn State??s great academics (his major, wildlife sciences, was offered by the School of Forestry) and top-notch athletic facilities--a definite bonus in his pursuit of success. ??Anything I needed was here,?? says Pettner.
There was no time to waste in taking full advantage of Penn State??s athletic program. Pettner arrived in Happy Valley a short two months before the outdoor season was to begin. Coach Gottdenker was faced with a unique challenge. According to him, the physics of the javelin throw make it ??an abusive event.?? ??You??re running at almost top speed, throwing a leg out, stopping on a dime, and trying to transfer all that energy into your throw,?? he explains. ??A lot of different things can get hurt.?? The coach had to prepare Pettner for top-level competition in a short amount of time while not taxing the fresh athlete??s body beyond the point of exhaustion.
Through trial and error, it was found that Pettner was at his best when he was adequately rested. He qualified for the NCAA regional meet in his first competition as a Nittany Lion. Although his marks throughout the season were more than respectable, there was a noticeable decline in distance as the season went on. According to Gottdenker, this was simply a product of his adjustment to NCAA training schedules.
After a few meets, Pettner managed to stay off the runway??and the national radar-- until the Big Ten Championships. According to Pettner, his performance wasn??t a fluke. Said Pettner, ??I had 100 percent confidence training last year that I could win at the Big Tens.?? Gottdenker agrees that this is an example of Pettner??s incredible self-motivation. ??He??s a kid that likes to compete,?? said Gottdenker. He recalls that, similarly, the first time Pettner threw over 200 feet was in the junior college national championship meet. ??That shows you how well he performs in big meets.??
It seems this season he??ll have to continue this ambition. He has a series of goals in mind that will take his full effort. Chief among these is breaking the school record of 237?? 1??. Perhaps ??goals in mind?? is not strong enough of a term??the 237-1 mark can be found everywhere, from posters on his walls to the background of his cell phone screen. Considering what he??s shown himself capable of doing when he puts his mind to it, the rest of the country better be on notice.
Individual accolades don??t seem to fit with Pettner??s personality, but in the big picture, that record is worth a lot of points. With Pettner and sophomore Tanner Evak regularly combining for over 400 feet, this season??s javelin corps is a good bet to dominate the competition. A throw approaching 240 feet is almost a guaranteed national spot??not to mention a good chance at a repeat as Big Ten Champion (Pettner currently ranks third in the country). Knowing that this is within reach has expanded Pettner??s prospects for this year. According to him, repeating at the Big Tens is certainly a priority, but not a focus. ??I want to get done what I need to get done at regionals, and then compete well at nationals,?? he says.
Even at this level, success has its perks. The humble kid from Mercersburg has recently joined the elite group of athletes with fan clubs based on the social networking website Facebook. Of course, this comes as a shock to him. ??I??m a pretty modest guy,?? Pettner admits. ??I was caught off guard when other throwers would come up and shake my hand and tell me they admire my throwing.?? That??s nothing compared to the ink he gets in his hometown. According to him, his family makes up for the general lack of press afforded to track and field. ??My grandfather carries around my Big Ten championship medal,?? says Pettner. He adds that it??s always fun to go home, as everybody knows how he??s doing. Maybe he doesn??t have to dig as deep as it may seem for inspiration. ??That??s my biggest motivation to do well,?? Pettner says. ??For him.??
Epilogue
There is at least one group of people that don??t mistake Pettner??s unassuming nature: the rest of the Big Ten field. A highly competitive but close-knit group, they had their moment in the sun at the Big Ten Championships. Throwing on the infield of the Nittany Lion track on the last day of competition, spirits ran high. However, home field advantage only counts for so much. To have a performance like the one Pettner posted at the Big Tens requires focus, drive, and unfailing confidence. With his first throw, the top seed threw a 233?? 8????10 yards farther than the automatic regional qualifying mark. After solid throws by teammates Evak, Dunn, and multi-event specialist Shawn Colligan, Pettner uncorked a massive 237-foot throw. With only his second throw of the day, he was a centimeter short of the school record.
The next time he stepped into the box, there was no doubt. As soon as his winning mark of 239??9?? showed up on the board, the north side of the track??which included no less than 30 members of Pettner??s family??erupted. Ever the humble champ, Pettner threw wide on his next two attempts and then passed for the remainder of the event. With his first place finish, Evak??s second, and Colligan and Dunn taking fifth and sixth, the javelin corps put a total of 25 points on the board??no small part of the Nittany Lions?? fourth-place finish.
With a second consecutive Big Ten title under his belt, the school record secure, and less than a foot separating him from the best throw in the country, it??s going to be an exciting month. Last weekend, Pettner earned an automatic NCAA bid at the East Regional, finishing third for bronze medal honors. Pettner marked a throw of 232-06 (70.86) and will be making his first career trip to nationals.