Kyle Long and Kyle Felpel are the latest in a long line of top-shelf Lancaster County exports:

Men and women who are really good at throwing heavy and/or cumbersome things a long way.

The Lancaster-Lebanon League and/or Lancaster County have produced six state high-school javelin champions: Lew Ireland (Manheim Township, 1956), Bob Rivard (Hempfield, 1965), Marilyn Senz (Hempfield, 1980), Jeff Glass (McCaskey, 1985), Troy Burkholder (Cocalico, 1995) and Thomas Jordan (Cedar Crest, 2003).

Senz went on to Penn State and, eventually, the U.S. Olympic Trials. Glass was among the top all-around throwers in the country at the University of Tennessee.

Burkholder's 243-foot throw at Cocalico was the best in the nation that year. Jordan's 224-foot heave at states (with a heavier javelin than was used in Burkholder's era) was a state-meet and national record.

The late Franklin & Marshall track coach Bill Iannicelli was the No. 2 javelin thrower in the country, all divisions, in 1947.

It's not just the javelin. Eliese Mitchell won four state titles — three in the shot put, one in the discus — at Garden Spot, and went on to become a top hammer thrower at the University of Virginia.

Annville-Cleona's Jeremy Silverman won the state shot title, with a then-meet-record heave, in 2001.

Enter Long, who won the state discus and shot-put titles as a Hempfield junior last spring, the former with a meet-record throw of 202-1.

He signed a letter-of-intent Wednesday to attend Arizona State.

Enter Felpel, who beat Long in the shot at the District Three meet last spring, finished second to him in the discus in districts and states, and finished fourth in the district in the javelin.

Felpel is headed to the University of Alabama.

Full rides in track and field are very rare for incoming freshmen. Long said he's getting 80 percent of his college costs the first year.

The scholarship could go full in a year, once NCAA shot champ Jordan Clarke graduates.

Long also got offers from Arizona, Connecticut and Wake Forest.

To the extent that there are such things as college throwing powers, Arizona State is one. It's where Central Dauphin throwing legend Ryan Whiting, who was the best in the country in the shot and discus in 2005, matriculated.

"Throwing is really one of the strengths of the school; they put a lot of money into it," Long said.

They also, Long said, have one of the country's top coaches, Dave Dumble.

Felpel had offers from Penn State, Tennessee and Oklahoma. A visit to Alabama on a football Saturday helped, but not as much as being around the track program.

"The difference was how serious everyone was," he said. "You could see they were really committed to competing and to academics."

Alabama, according to Felpel, recently recommitted to becoming a top power in the sport, hiring a new coaching staff that includes former Kentucky throwing coach Doug Reynolds.

Reynolds' top student has been Canadian Olympian Scott Russell, whom Felpel called "the best all-around thrower in college history."

Long plans to specialize in the discus in college, whereas Felpel plans to try shot, discus, javelin and probably the hammer throw.

If you're picturing massive, extra-wide bodies, that's neither Long nor Felpel.

They're both lean and athletic, and could probably be elite-level in more glamourous sports. Felpel played football at Cocalico and Long is on Hempfield's ice-hockey team.

They are both serious students who intend to major in engineering. They are both all-in for throwing, theoretically even beyond college to national and international competition.

"It's just so much fun," Long explained. "It's really easy to do. It's relaxing. If you're mad, you can take it out on the implements."

AL-L Access is an inside look at current and former Lancaster-Lebanon League athletes, teams and coaches and issues surrounding the league. Comments, suggestions and story ideas are welcome, and can be emailed to mgross@lnpnews.com.