Huntley's star thrower has barely tapped his enormous potential

The discus. The shot put. Football. The weight room. The classroom.

Huntley's Marcus Popenfoose excelled in each during the 2009-10 school year, but he's only begun to put the hammer down.

Or in his particular case, put the hammer up.

One of the greatest throwers in Illinois history - Popenfoose earned six state medals in four years; four in the discus, two in shot put - finished his high school career by capturing the state championship he chased for four years.

On May 29, Popenfoose threw the discus 189 feet, 3 inches to win the state title. In three previous seasons he had finished second, fourth and eighth. The state title was the first for Huntley in boys track and field.

Popenfoose placed second in the shot put at the state meet with a throw of 61-11/2, marking his second straight runner-up finish in the event.

A 6-foot-2, 265-pound linebacker and tight end last fall, the senior was named to the all-area football team for the second straight year after leading his team to the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

For these accomplishments, Huntley senior Marcus Popenfoose has been named the 2009-10 Daily Herald Fox Valley male athlete of the year.

Popenfoose, who scored a 29 on the ACT and carried a 3.89 grade-point average, committed in December to a scholarship offer from Auburn University. He intends to throw discus and shot, of course, but a third throwing event may prove to be his best in college.

"When he goes to Auburn and picks up the hammer, he may be a world-class hammer thrower," Huntley throws coach Chris Maxedon said. "I think it may turn out to be his best event. He wants to be three-event scorer at (Southeast Conference) meets and compete at the national level in two events."

The hammer throw has been in the back of Popenfoose's mind since coaches at a summer camp at Iowa told him two years ago it could prove to be his college specialty. The confident 18-year-old views it as just another challenge.

"The footwork with the hammer is really complex and hard to learn, but some people think that's what I'll be better at, moreover than the shot and the discus," Popenfoose said. "I'm just going to go out and give everything I've got in all three of them and wherever the chips lie, that's where they lie."

Maxedon has known Popenfoose since he was in third grade. He has seen his star pupil rise from novice to elementary school state champion to high school state champion. Both say they learned the intricacies of throwing techniques together along the way as they tried to refine Marcus' form into that of a champion.

"We've done a good job deciphering what we do know," Popenfoose said. "My technique isn't picture perfect, particularly in the shot."

Their work garnered the Class 3A discus title this season, but Maxedon says humbly the year-round training Popenfoose will receive from Auburn throwing coach Jerry Clayton should unlock his maximum ability.

Entering this season, Clayton's athletes had won 10 NCAA individual track and field national championships and 37 became All-Americans. Six of his athletes advanced to the 2008 outdoor NCAA championships, including Cory Martin, whose career included national titles in the hammer and shot.

Auburn's newest recruit could be a three-event threat.

"In the recruiting process we talked about doing all three events," Clayton said. "What I usually do is pick what their strongest event is. For (Popenfoose), at this point in his career I feel the discus is his strongest. But he definitely had an interest in trying to learn the hammer, and I've had quite a bit of success with athletes coming in and teaching them that event.

"Sometimes it ends up being their strongest event. Sometimes it ends up being their second or third event.

"Normally, when someone comes off of being a discus thrower, the hammer is a natural transition. We'll see how he adapts and see if he picks it up."

Popenfoose still has a high ceiling despite a record-setting high school career (he briefly held the state meet record in the discus of 199-08 and threw a personal best 202-4 this season). Remarkably, he achieved elite status without the benefit of year-round training.

"Throughout high school Marcus has only thrown from February to June," Maxedon said. "I think maybe one summer he threw. So many of those kids are year-round throwers. Marcus is a four-month thrower.

"Knowing coach Clayton down at Auburn and knowing what Marcus' ability levels are, I think great things could happen. It wouldn't surprise me to see Marcus win an NCAA championship. Maybe I set that expectation level of him to high, but I know that's what he expects to do."

"I definitely want to compete in the NCAA outdoor national meet and be an All-American," Popenfoose said. "But mainly I want to throw longer in the discus and the shot than I did in high school: 60-plus in the shot put and over 200 in the discus. To be a good college thrower you have to go above the marks you had in high school."

Popenfoose will likely experience a dip in his discus distances as a college freshman of "around 10 feet," according to Clayton. That's because the NCAA discus weighs approximately 13 ounces more than the implement used at the high school level. But Clayton is certain Popenfoose will eventually excel.

"I look at athletic ability, that's the major thing, and he's an excellent all-around athlete," Clayton said. "If he can come in as a freshman and throw 180 or 190, that would be outstanding."

If Popenfoose achieves success at the national level in college, could a professional career or even an Olympiad lie in his long-term future?

"The possibilities are endless for him," Maxedon said.