“Dan McKim is fast becoming the new star of the sport,” Francis Brebner said of the Highland Games standout.  “His distances in the hammers are world class,” but even that was not good enough to hold off former world champion Sean Betz as the pair fought it out in St. Louis last weekend.

 
Sean Betz Wins the St. Louis Highland Games
by Francis Brebner
 
The St. Louis Highland Games this past weekend witnessed a heated battle between former world champion Sean Betz and the new rising star of Highland games Dan McKim.

The opening event with the 18' open stone was won by Betz with a throw of 49' 3”.  In a close second place was Dan McKim with 48' 9”, and Craig Smith got third place with 45' 10".
 
In the 56-lb. weight for distance, Craig Smith had a great series of throws over 44' with his best being 44' 5"; in second was Chad Gustin with 42' 6", and in third place was Betz with 42' 3".
 
Following on with the 28-lb. for distance, it was Gustin who won with a huge PR of 86'.  In second place was Betz with a distance of 81' 11", and Kerry Overfelt ws in third place with a under par throw of 81' 3". 
 
Moving onto the hammers, which were nice with very whippy shafts, it was a real slugfest between McKim and Betz.  McKim had the best series of throws with the 22-lb. hammer recorded this season with two throws over 120' and his best being 122' 8"; in second place was Betz with 117' 5", and in third place was Overfelt with 106'. 
 
In the 16-lb. hammer again there were awesome performances by McKim and Betz, with both going over 141'.  McKim snatched his second win over Betz with a distance of 141' 4", nipping the former world champion by 4”.  Gustin grabbed third place with a throw of 122' 9". 
 
In the caber event featured a  20' 5" long, 120-lb. stick and it was Dan McKim the current IHGF World Caber Tossing champion who dominated, hitting a 12:00 toss.  In second place was Craig Smith with a 9:30. 
 
Going into the final two events it was tight in points between McKim and Betz and both cleared 31' with the sheaf, but McKim won on count back.  In third place was Craig Smith with 30'.
 
The final event, the 56-lb. weight over the bar, was won by Betz:  he used the traditional style of throwing and cleared 17' which was the fifth time this year that he has cleared such a height.  Betz then switched to the spin and got 18' for the overall win of the competition.  In second place was Gustin, who cleared 17' 6" using the spin, and in third place was McKim, who use the traditional standing style to clear 16'. 
 
Overall places:
 
1. Sean Betz
2. Daniel McKim
3. Chad Gustin
4. Craig Smith
5. Kerry Overfelt
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