Conditions were less than ideal Thursday for Normal's Tim Glover in the Amateur Athletic Union National Track and Field Championships.

Wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph blew in the face of Glover and his fellow javelin throwers. A runway chewed up by half-inch long spikes earlier in the week made footing treacherous.

Still, Glover found his way to a perfect ending, capping an undefeated summer by winning the championship in the young men's division (17-18) at Ypsilanti, Mich.

Glover had a winning throw of 185 feet, 10 inches to defeat the runner-up by 17 feet. He also won the USATF Youth Outdoor national championship this summer at Charlotte, N.C.

"I definitely didn't think I'd win two national titles this year," said the 17-year-old Glover, who will be a senior at University High School. "I was just planning on one."

The winning effort Thursday was well short of Glover's personal best of 204-9 set earlier this summer. The wind and footing were factors, with Glover calling the runway at Eastern Michigan University "easily the worst I've ever been on."

Competitors in the javelin portion of the decathlon were allowed to wear half-inch spikes earlier in the week. They gouged the runway and created slippery conditions Thursday for the javelin throwers, who wore the regulation quarter-inch spikes.

"I slipped a few times, so I had to deal with that," Glover said. "I cut my run-up in half. I just did like a three-step approach."

Glover also borrowed a different javelin to help combat the wind. In the end, he won for the eighth time in eight meets this summer. Along the way, he set meet records at AAU and USATF state and regional meets.

He opted not to play summer baseball in order to concentrate on the javelin. The results exceeded his goals.

"I was expecting to be right around 200 feet, but not like 204," he said. "I'll take it, though."

Glover now will turn his attention to golf. He is hoping to earn a spot on the U High golf team again.

"My body is starting to get a little worn out from all the traveling and throwing," he said. "It will be nice just golfing."