As the final throw left his hand, Steve Meyers let out a deep roar that bellowed through the Multi-Sport Facility. As the shot hit the ground 58-8 feet away, he leapt high in the air and the home crowd, including his parents, exploded with cheers.

The Penn State senior did not know it until officials finished measuring, but the throw would end up being a personal record by almost three-and-a-half feet. It was also the longest throw of the day, making Meyers the winner of the Penn State National shot put competition.

When reflecting back on the throw, Meyers says he does not remember much, but the one thing he does remember is that it just clicked.

His throwing coach Mark Gottdenker agrees.

"Technique-wise that was the best I have ever seen him, in practice or in competition," Gottdenker said. "It all finally fell into place."

Meyers added that, although he was in the lead, he was still cheering for his competitors, many of whom he has known for years.

"I was still pumped up, I've been throwing against these guys since high school and we are all kind of friends," Meyers said. "They are all good throwers and to win is a good reward for all of my training the last few years."

Both Meyers and Gottdenker realize just how big of a win this was, not only for Meyers, but also for Penn State as a team.

"The shot was a big win, I'm not going to lie," Gottdenker said. "That's a really good field, there are a couple of All-Americans in that field, I really feel it went about as good as it could have went."

Meyers has been working to rise to this level for more than four years (he took a year off because of a broken leg). He had also been consistent during recent practices, and Penn State head coach Harry Groves said that was a key.

"He has been hitting around, having good practices, but has not been able to put it together in a meet," Groves said. "But you go for consistency and he has been consistent and you figure one time along the line during the season he is going to get himself all motivated and do it in competition."

This win also rejects the stereotype of shot putting being only about brute strength. Technique and speed are essential parts of a good throw, and Meyers combined them all to win the National.

"What you saw today was speed finally winning over strength," Gottdenker said. "He finally did the things we were trying to get him to do, and it worked the way it is supposed to work."

Meyers, who qualified provisionally for the NCAA championships, has his sights set higher -- throwing about a meter longer and qualifying for NCAAs automatically.

If he is to achieve his goal, this win might be the spark that gets him there.

"Once momentum gets going and things start to happen, they start to snowball," Gottdenker said. "And for Steve, I hope that's the beginning of a big snowball."