Dan Tennison’s winning performance at the 2016 Kansas City Highland Games included a big 17’ 6” throw with the 56-lb. weight for height—IHGF CEO Francis Brebner called the action for IronMind.



 
2016 Kansas City Highland Games: IHGF All-American Qualifier
by Francis Brebner
International Highland Games Federation (IHGF)


Kansas City hosted the fourth leg of the 2016 IHGF All-American Highland Games qualifiers, where Jon Hereth and Tomas Lambotte earned slots at the IHGF All-American Highland Games Championships.
 
The 40th annual Kansas City Highland Games attracted a total of 60 athletes over the two days of competition, from novice men’s and women’s, masters’, and amateur men’s A, B and C divisions. The lineup in the A group division included  Dan Tennison, Scott Hutchison, Jon Hereth, Tomas Lambotte, Eddie Johnson, Ryan Huddleston, Shane Thomas, Aaron McGhee, Zach Lucas, and Doug Kressly.
 
A highlight of the games undoubtedly was the A division, who were vying for the top two qualifying spots in the fourth leg of the IHGF All-American Highland Games series, which will be hosted at the McPherson Highland Games in mid-September.
 
In the 22-lb. Braemar stone, Tennison notched his first win with a dominating cluster of puts all over 40’, with his best being 43’ 1”. Second place was a ding-dong skirmish between Hereth and Hutchinson, with Hereth pulling ahead in the final round at 37’ 6-1/2” to go ahead of Hutchinson’s 36’ 1”.
 
The 16-lb. open stone was electrifying to watch as Tennison let rip from the first round with a series of world-class puts all over 56’, with a best of 56’ 6”. Hutchison was second with 49’ 6”, with Hereth third at 46’ 6”.
 
In the 56-lb. weight-for-distance, Tennison was on fire, adding his third victory with a crushing throw of 43’. Hutchison followed at 36’ 11”, with Hereth trailing at 34’ 4-1/2”.
 
Tennison comfortably won the 28-lb. light weight-for-distance with a throw of 82’ 10”, and on extra attempts, upped that mark to 84’ 11”. Again, second was Hutchison at 79’ and third Hereth at 70’ 10-1/2”.

In the 22-lb. heavy hammer, Hutchison come into his own, the only athlete to reach over 100’  on his final attempt, pulling out a distance 103’ 6-1/2”, which also established a new field record. Johnson took second place with 95’ 3” and Lambotte took third with 88’ 1”.

In the 16-lb. light hammer, Hutchison claimed his second victory, lashing out a throw of 119’ 9-1/2” for back-to-back wins in the hammers. Tennison placed second with 113’, and Hereth third with 116’ 1-1/2”.

The 56-lb. weight-over-bar was undoubtedly the highlight of the athletics as Tennison set a new field record of 17’ 6”, which was also a personal best, and on extra attempts he came very close to clearing the amateur world record of 18’ 1”. Hutchinson was second with 15’ and Lambotte third with 14’.
 
The caber, at 16’ 7” and 100 lb. with very little taper, proved a real challenge with only three athletes able to successfully turn it. Ending in a close competition between the top two, Tennison pulled out three tosses with his best a perfect 12 o’clock to Hutchison’s 12:05.

Once all the points were tallied, Dan Tennison was the overall champion, and both Hereth and Lambotte qualified for the IHGF All-American Highland Games Championships as both Tennison and Hutchison had earned their spots in the finals in earlier legs.
 
Final points
1. Dan Tennison          12
2. Scott Hutchison      15
3. Jon Hereth           29
4. Tomas Lambotte     32
5. Eddie Johnson        36.5
6. Ryan Huddleston    57.5
7. Shane Tomas           59
8. Aron McGhee        61
9. Zach Lucas          63
10. Doug Kressly      77

Athletic director Doug McDonald was delighted with the overall games and the many athletes competing. In the A group, five new field records were established, four set by one athlete alone, Dan Tennison, who in only his second year of competing has captured the attention of the amateur ranks and is without a doubt one of the up-and-coming pros of the future. The next and final qualifier in the IHGF All-American series will be held at the Spokane, Washington Highland Games, August 6, 2016.

 
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