As one of the finest high school throwers ever, Jordan Geist moved into more select company nearly every time he entered the circle.
On Saturday, he claimed recognition that he shares with no one else. Geist's final round throw of 70 feet, 4.5 inches (21.45 meters) earned the 19-year-old the distinction of being the youngest ever to throw 70 feet with the 16-pounder.
"I knew it was going to be good," the Arizona freshman said of his sixth throw at the UW Invitational. "I didn't know how good it was going to be.
"I actually had another throw in the third round that was technically better, but it went 21.12 (69-3.5), which is also a very good throw. I just had a lot more speed behind the ball on the last throw."
With his 20th birthday (July 21) nearly a half-year away, Geist is almost four months younger than world record holder Randy Barnes was when he topped 70 feet for the first time while at Texas A&M in 1986. Barnes has held the indoor and outdoor world records for almost three decades.
"It's definitely cool to be mentioned in the same sentence as him, considering all that he did over the period that he did it," Geist said of Barnes and his WRs of 75-10.25 and 74-4.25. "Hopefully, I can follow in his footsteps."
The only other putter to break 70 as a teen-ager is Ron Semkiw, who was less than a month shy of his 20th birthday when he broke through the barrier in 1974.
Semkiw, who held the Pennsylvania shot put record for more than 40 years before Geist surpassed it repeatedly during his final two years at Knoch High School, was the first member of the 70-70 club for those who hit the distance with both the 12- and 16-pound balls. Semkiw was followed by Michael Carter, Brent Noon, Ryan Crouser, Ryan Whiting, Jordan Clarke and Geist.
"It was definitely a big difference because there have been almost 30 people throw 70 feet in high school," Geist said in comparing his 70-foot moments. "And I think I'm one of 15 people to throw 70 feet in college. It's just a different type of excitement knowing the people who have thrown 70 feet in college. Hopefully I can follow in their footsteps."
Geist topped 70 feet with the high school implement for the first time on Jan. 30, 2016, with a 71-2.5 put at Edinboro University. Just a week before, he had missed the historic distance with the 12-pounder by a half inch.
He used that near-miss as motivation for his first prep 70-footer. Likewise, he used his previous ranking on the 2018 NCAA Division I indoor list as the impetus for Saturday's performance.
"Yes, it did, especially being ranked behind another freshman," Geist said of being bothered by his No. 4 spot before heading to Seattle. "That definite ate at me, and it motivated me the two weeks after (Northern Arizona)."
Geist's opener of 64-5.25 (19.64) was his shortest throw of Saturday's competition. His final five efforts all measured 66-10 or better and averaged 68-4.5, which still would rank No. 2 in the world in 2018 behind Tomas Stanek of the Czech Republic.
"It was definitely a very pleasant surprise," the 19-year-old said of his series of marks. "Training has been going very well, but the consistency that I had in the meet was definitely a very, very pleasant surprise. Hopefully we can keep building on that and keep consistently getting better."
Geist's next competition might come as the Wildcats head to the Red Raider Classic at Texas Tech on Feb. 9-10 or two weeks later at the MPSF Championships back in Seattle.
"I think it helps because I'm finally able to get myself recognized as an elite level thrower in college," Geist said when asked if breaking 70 relieved any pressure he is experiencing. "The downside to that too is that now everyone is expecting me to go to a meet and throw 70 feet, even though that is definitely not going to happen this year."
Geist now is 38th on the all-time world indoor list with his new NCAA freshman record and school record in just his second official college meet. Also No. 8 on the NCAA all-time indoor list, the mark created a much appreciated show of support from fellow 70-footers including Ryan Whiting, Joe Kovacs and Darrell Hill.
"Yes, it's definitely cool to think of it that way," he said of his all-time indoor ranking. "Knowing some of the people who have done that. Being this young, hopefully I can keep climbing that list as I go."
