James Geist

This is the sixth in a series of articles profiling the 2011 inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of FameCABOT — When Knoch High School needed someone to pick up the javelin, Jim Geist was there.And he knew what to do with it.Geist did not compete in the javelin until his junior year with the Knights. He went on to set the school record in the event, win the WPIAL, then set the javelin mark at Slippery Rock University.Both of his javelin records still stand — and Geist will soon be standing among the membership of the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame. He is part of the 2011 induction class to be enshrined at the April 30 banquet at the Butler Days Inn.“This is my second Hall of Fame and it is a surprise,” Geist said. “I'm shocked to be going in.”Geist was inducted into the Slippery Rock University Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.“I started out throwing the shot put and discus in high school,” he recalled. “We had two really good javelin throwers and needed no one else.“When those two guys graduated, we needed someone to pick up and throw the javelin. I guess I was the guy.”Indeed, he was.Geist broke the school record during his senior year in 1985, tossing it 210 feet, four inches. Because the javelin itself has been altered since then, Geist's record will stand forever.He went on to win the Butler Invitational, Fort Pitt Invitational and WPIAL titles that year as well before settling for third at the PIAA Championships.“I was only average in the shot put and discus,” he admitted. “I was a late bloomer in the javelin. My best years were in college.”Geist went on to set the SRU javelin record throw of 230 feet, two inches in 1989. He became a four-time NCAA Division II All-American and a four-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion.His 230-2 also stood as the PSAC record.Geist became a two-time PSAC Most Valuable Field Athlete (1987 and 1989) and was Division II national runner-up in the javelin in 1987.Growing up as a baseball player, Geist got started in track and field as a means of preparing for summer baseball. He threw two no-hitters in Senior League and played for the Saxonburg VFW American Legion team,Because Knoch had no baseball team back then, he competed in track and field during the spring “to be part of a team for my school.”“I'm grateful for the way everything turned out,” Geist said. “Because I could throw the javelin, I got to see many parts of the country — New York, California, Texas, etc.— through going to competitions. That meant more to me than any individual accomplishment.”Geist still does two or three camps per year, workling with young throwers.“Throwing the javelin is an un-natural motion to a kid at first,” he said. “Most kids grow up throwing a baseball or football and this is totally different.“It takes a while to get the fundamentals down. A kid has to stay with it. That's the best piece of advice I can give.”Tickets to the 6:30 p.m. banquet are $20 each and are available at Bill's Beer Barn and Snack ‘n Pack in Butler, Moses Jeweler at the Clearview Mall, Parker Appliance in Chicora and Saxonburg Drug.