Joens takes to javelin throw

IOWA CITY - Be it a baseball or a javelin, throwing has always come easy to Sam Joens.

Once a star center fielder and discus thrower at Cedar Rapids Prairie High School, Joens attracted attention from the University of Iowa and eventually walked on to the team.

When Joens first started with the Hawkeyes, he was prepared to continue pursuing the discus throw. That was until throwing coach Scott Cappos handed him a javelin.

'Cappos came to me when I got there and put a javelin in my hand and said, ‘This is your new friend,'” Joens said. 'So I just ran with it. It was a new me and I enjoyed it.”

Joens said a lot of the same techniques from discus and baseball came natural to him.

While most can't tell a huge difference from the throwing mechanics of a baseball to a javelin, it's the little things that caught Joens off guard at first, he said.

The team started actively scouting Joens when he was a senior in high school. Joens attended clinics as a senior, which is where he got his first chance with the javelin.

'With him being an outstanding, all-around athlete, I thought it might be an event he could progress in,” Cappos said. 'We still let him pursue throwing the discus, but really, he might be able to throw the javelin, with the athletic ability he has.”

Cappos said in his first year as a red-shirt, Joens improved quickly. In just his second year, Joens has had quick success.

The most recent achievement for Joens came from the Big Ten Championships, where he placed second in the javelin throw.

Joens will be on his way to Fayetteville, Ark., next week to compete in the NCAA West Regional meet.

In order to qualify for the NCAA finals, Joens' will need to improve his throw by about 10-feet, Cappos said.

While the question of improving his latest personal best isn't completely out of the question, Joens is confident in his future at the javelin throw.

'I've got a lot of work to do, but I've got two more years,” Joens said.

'If it doesn't happen this year then maybe next year or the year after.

'I'm just hoping to put down a reachable mark for myself and hopefully it'll compare to some of the best throwers in the West region.”