HELENA — What does it take to become a state champion?
It’s a title Helena Capital senior Tyler Crum earned twice after repeating as champion in the javelin at the Class AA state track meet in late May in Kalispell.
“Just try to stay relaxed. Just try to follow the technique best I can. And then just let it rip and see what happens,” said Crum, who recorded a personal best throw of 186 feet, 1 inch to clinch his second title. “It was pretty awesome. I mean, especially being a two-timer, it was awesome. And I’m pretty blessed.”
But javelin didn’t always come naturally to Crum, whose reign over Class AA was preceded by years of training and honing his technique.
“I started late my freshman year. And I kind of had a good year with that,” said Crum. “My sophomore year, I knew I could be something special with it. So yeah, just followed with it and it ended up working out.”
Capital’s javelin coach said she first noticed Crum’s state-champion potential during his sophomore year.
“I wasn’t his coach yet, but I was watching him at the state meet,” said javelin coach Lexi Wrigg. “And so I saw his big PR at that meet, and he came in and placed then. And I was like, ‘Wow, that kid has a ton of potential.’ He just needs a little coaching. Like a little tweaking here and there, and he could be really great. And there he went.”
And there Crum went, training javelin both in-season and during the off-seasons, eventually rising to the top of Class AA.
“He’s a great kid, (a) really hard worker,” said Wrigg. “(He’s) really dedicated to the javelin and anything that he’s participating in. He reached out to me this winter to start working on drills. I didn’t reach out to him. So that just shows how dedicated he is to the sport.”
Crum said his success would not have been possible without the guidance of his coaches.
“Yeah, I do want to thank my coaches. They’ve been great,” said Crum. “Especially Lexi. We met in January. And then we got to work and did drills and got better and better, and it ended up paying off. So yeah, I want to thank them.”
