Kutztown’s Lauren Akers has taken fast track to the top

Track & Field coverage presented by ATT Sports, Inc.

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

Weeks before the season began, when most athletes weren’t even venturing outside, Lauren Akers provided a glimpse of what was to come.

Kutztown’s sophomore ran across the blacktop and heaved a javelin through the frigid air until it landed in soft, mushy ground. 

Michael Aboulhouda, an assistant track coach who specializes in the throws, knew it immediately. Greatness was within Akers’ reach.

“I saw her throwing in the cold and I thought, ‘You know what? This girl’s really got some potential,’ ” Aboulhouda said. “She was doing work right out of the gate. She had a very fast arm. She used that athletic ability to tune into her throws.”

Akers was a natural and last weekend she became a champion. She reached 115-0 and won the Class 2A javelin at the District 3 Track and Field championships at Shippensburg.

The path to the top of the medal stand began the previous fall, when Akers asked Aboulhouda if she could lift weights with some of the football players who were also throwers.

Akers’ athleticism showed up there. She could finish power lifts with clean form and made it look effortless.

After Maggie Malone, the Olympic javelin thrower, gave a speech at Kutztown, Akers’ interest was piqued. She wanted to give it a shot.

Aboulhouda initially had Akers try all three throws, including the shot put and discus, before settling on the javelin.

That became her niche.

“I’m a pretty athletic person so I got the hang of it,” said Akers, who was the leading scorer on Kutztown’s soccer team.

“The hard part was not softball throwing it or baseball throwing it,” she said. “To actually throw it like a javelin. I used to run left and drift across the runway. I would throw it straight up in the air. It was a mess in the beginning. But I got it together pretty fast.”

That’s an understatement.

It was stunning how quickly Akers put up impressive distances. At the season-opening meet, the Oxenreider Relays, she reached 107-2 on one of her first attempts. To put that in perspective, the second-best throw in Class 2A at the district meet was 107-0. Akers was an instant challenger.

The progression continued when she reached her PR at 122-11 at the Twin Valley Invitational in April. That puts her at 14th in the state in her classification.

“That’s when it kind of sunk in,” Akers said. “Maybe I’m OK at this sport.”

Aboulhouda has seen this kind of transformation before. Last season he worked with Abby Reasoner, an All-Berks goalie in soccer, and helped her become a district silver medalist. Reasoner now throws at Shippensburg.

It’s exciting to imagine what the next two years could hold for Akers. The sophomore remains a work in progress despite all of her success.

Aboulhouda said if Akers throws during the summer, working around her soccer obligations, she could potentially be in the high 130s to 140s by the end of next season. That’s lofty territory.

“Lauren is an athlete through and through,” Aboulhouda said. “Her mind is able to connect to her muscles and tell them what to do in the exact way it needs to get done. It’s not necessarily a matter of her being strong. She’s able to hit the technical positions she needs to hit. That’s what gives her the distance.”

Akers sounds like she’s hooked. She doesn’t want that moment on the medal stand to be her last.

“I’m definitely committed to the sport,” Akers said. “I showed up to every practice. It really did show throughout the season. I’m going to get stronger. My technique can always improve. I definitely want to put in the work.”

Akers won gold on her first try. There’s no telling how far it can go from here.