EUGENE, Ore. (KOIN) — There is a history of Olympic javelin throwers coming from Oregon. But for the first time since 2000, there is not a javelin thrower from Newberg High School in the Olympic trials at Hayward Field.
There was Sarah Malone, Newberg class of 2000, the 2004 Olympic Trials silver medalist. Then from the class of 2005, there were Rachel Buciarski, who competed in the 2012 Olympics, and Cyrus Hostetler, an Olympian in both 2012 and 2016.
What is the key to Newberg’s success? Coach Joe Boutin.
“He’s the common thread,” Malone said.
“He’s like the father,” said Hostetler. “Gets you into the program, treates them like he’s one of his own.”
Hostetler and Buciarski were teammates under Boutin and became Olympians the same year. They said Boutin’s dedication to not only the sport but to them is what catapulted their careers to Olympic heights.
“He invested so much in us. And I always wanted to give him what he was giving me. And I felt like I carried that through college,” Buciarski said.
Boutin would “put his arm around you pull you in tight and talk into your ear almost and have those conversations with you almost as if you were the only person in the world,” Hostetler said.
And what would he say? Often the words that eventually became the defining motto of his coaching career: stay focused, keep it simple, “the best is yet to come.”
“He really gave us a gift,” Buciarski. You know, he set us up for success in college and thereafter. So I think that alone is something to carry forever.”
The Newberg javelin program is in the capable hands of one of Boutin’s disciples — Sarah Malone.
“What better way to give back than to come back to my community and try to do — if I can do a fraction of what Boutin did over his history here — I’ll be happy,” Malone said.
Buciarski summed it up best: “Newberg. This tiny town. It’s just remarkable.”
