LA VERNE, Calif. — La Verne senior Andrew Carrasco has been one of the best hammer throwers in the SCIAC and the nation over the the last four years, winning three straight SCIAC championships in the event from 2015-17 and earning All-America status in 2016.
His achievements are impressive in and of themselves but they're all the more so considering he never had a dedicated hammer ring on which to practice and compete.
After years of competing hammer on the Brown property south of Arrow Highway, the University of La Verne, thanks to a generous contribution by Carrasco's father Alex, built a new hammer ring on the multi-purpose field of La Verne's Campus West Athletic Complex.
The ring was built and opened in March just in time for the season's first SCIAC Multi-Dual—La Verne's only home meet of the year—and was dedicated on Friday in honor of the Carrasco family.
Alex Carrasco, the owner of Carrasco Concrete, wanted to build the ring so his son could throw in a first-class facility at his last home meet and built the ring himself. Andrew went on to win the event at the meet with a toss of 52.79 meters (173 feet, 2.25 inches).
The ring can be used for hammer throw, discus throw and shot put.
La Verne Director of Athletics Julie Kline gave the opening remarks highlighting the Leopards' accomplishments this season, Provost Jonathan Reed spoke on the importance of supporting scholar athletes and President Devorah Lieberman touched on Andrew's accomplishments as well as thanking the Carrasco family.