Lift, Throw, Repeat Leads To State Title
In his senior year of college Jed Lamont took a history class that helped him explore his Scottish ancestory.
Lamont, 35, a 2010 graduate of Waterville Central School, said he became deeply interested in his heritage.
For his final project in the class he traced his roots back to Scotland. That interest also led him to Syracuse in 2013 to take in the annual Highland Festival along Onondaga Lake Park.
While Lamont’s athletic background included soccer and football, he said he had never seen anything like the events at the Games.
The Festival included two events open to the public to try.
He tried to sign up, but the spots were filled. “I decided right then to train and try the next year,’’ Lamont said.
The Highland Festival encompasses two celebrations.
One focuses on Scottish heritage including pipe, drum and dance competitions.
The other pits competitors in seven heavyweight athletic events.
Lamont set up a training course in his yard, where he spent the next year working on the two events open to the public.
One is a caber toss.
The caber—the size and weight (up to 150 pounds) close to a utility pole—has to be lifted, balanced and then flipped.
Tossers go not for distance but looking for the perfect flip and landing to accrue points.
The second event is the sheaf toss.
Using a pitchfork, participants hurl a burlap bag filled with hay up to 20 pounds over a bar.
After three attempts the bar is raised and those who cleared it try again at the higher height until one person remains.
In 2014 Lamont went back to the Syracuse games and entered the field for public participation.
He also watched the athletes competing in all seven events. Lamont learned that one of them was also from Waterville.
Norm Deep Jr., who coaches cross country and track and field at his alma mater Clinton Central School, has been competing in Highland Games since his college days at Colgate University.
Deep, who will enter the master’s class of competition ...
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