Hailing From: Columbus, Ohio USA
Throwing Since: 2017
Within the Aim Games, and across the majority of Sports Throwing organizations and tournaments, there is no age, experience or gender separation in competition. Men and women compete together, under the same rules and on the same field. In our community, talent and capability are genderless, exemplified strongly in the many female sport throwers that have not only championed so many of their male counterparts, but have impressed themselves upon the legacy of our sport; as athletes, leaders and role models. This holds especially true of Lauren Dennis, who has and continues to make history, in the Aim Games and Sports Throwing overall, with a mission to open more doors for female athletes and evolve how the world views women in sports.
An expert pastry chef by profession, her precise technical skills have served her well. In the past seven years, she has wasted no time, building a stellar performance record and involving herself deeply in the advancement of women in Sports Throwing and growing the sport overall. While she has earned dozens of top-3 finishes across multiple in-person and online competitions, most significant to Lauren is her work and achievements as a mentor, leader and representative of women in Sports Throwing. She tells us, “I think so far, most of what I have done for this sport is attached to WWK, Women With Knives, and helping to further grow our sport among women. I am the president of the Ohio WWK team, and have volunteered for the planning committee for several years. I also help to provide coaching to the women in the league as well as anybody that asks for help with their throwing! I hope to inspire others to not limit their goals in competition. There is nothing holding the women of our sport back, we are every bit as capable as the men! I have also had the honor of being one of the throwers to represent our community on the History Channels Mountain Men Ultimate Marksmen where I competed for a cash prize in Montana.”
As an amateur rock climber, archer and avid hiker, it makes sense that Lauren also appreciates and excels in many throwing categories, but by far her favorite is no-spin, “it’s my favorite style of throwing and I think that some of my scores in this area stand out. It is becoming more common but breaking 200 in no spin is very difficult in competition. I think I also stand out for some of my trick shot videos and certainly for accuracy and consistency throwing. These are all things I love to do! Breaking personal records for things like consecutive sticks at 7m is something I like to do during practice sessions for fun”.
Such a meteoric rise always comes with a line of mentors and influences, and Lauren has deep gratitude and admiration for them all. “From the beginning I was inspired by many of the talented women in our sport like Melody Velarious Thomas, Jessica Gold-McClain and Amy Elliott who all have many trophies. It was cool to see women placing and winning in tournaments, in-person and online, and I wanted to be as good as they were. Later I got to know Brandon ‘Danger’ Dillion, and over the years I have learned so much from him in terms of throwing but also the way he sees and pursues knife throwing not just as a sport but, as he says, ‘a lifestyle’. Everything from instinctive throwing courses to trick shots, he is one of the most versatile throwers I have ever watched, and he has put so much time and thought and energy into growing this community. It would be accurate to say that his trick shot videos have influenced the culture of this entire sport. Much like Rick Lemberg whose steady organizing efforts and massive dedication inspire me regularly to make an impact by getting people involved. Without the Aim Games and Rick’s encouragement in his scoring reviews I might not have pursued this as much as I did, but I am so glad that I did”.
For most of her seven year throwing career, Lauren has been competing steadily in the Aim Games. Starting with ‘K10: 4-Meter Zone’, she has entered in 14 main tournaments and 13 Superstar Challenges, blazing a trail for women in the Aim Games along the way. Reflecting on her experiences, she tells us “My favorite thing about the Aim Games is that it’s a way to be competitive with yourself. The only way to improve is to focus on improving your best score, beating someone else isn't the main focus. The challenges are always very hard and require a lot of focus and the more you play the better a thrower you become”.
Nickname Backstory:
“The nickname that currently seems to have stuck is Silent Assassin, and the story behind it comes from the episode of Mountain Men Ultimate Marksmen I was on. While I was throwing, one of the hosts of the show, Mark Romano, was giving commentary and said that I had been like a silent assassin on the show, quietly finding success and putting pressure on the other contestants”.
Advice to New Throwers:
“Learn the basics of throwing and practice those a lot. Pay attention to the details and you will gain a lot of insight into what you are doing. Most of all get to a competition! Not necessarily to seriously compete, but to learn from others. There is no better place to learn from the best in our sport than at a throw, and everyone is happy to help new comers”.
Aim Games Record:
Top 20 - K12: Summer Heat; K15: The Shield; H5: The Tower; K16: The Quest; K17: The Wall; K18: Pirate Island; H7: The Tunnel
12th place in K12: Summer Heat
6th place in K16: The Quest
2nd place in K18: Pirate Island
Holding a 7 Superstar Rank, Lauren has the highest ever female placement in the Aim Games (2nd place!) spanning 10 years of events.
Select Notable Achievements:
2020
IKTHOF ONLINE CHALLENGE
Amateur No Spin - 2nd place
No Drop Ninja - 2nd place
THROWCHELLA ONLINE
Amateur Knife - 1st place
No Drop Ninja - 2nd place
Amateur No Spin - 3rd place
2021
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE ACES
Amateur No Spin - 2nd place
Silhouette - 3rd place
Female Overall Points - 1st place
DANGERFEST
Pro No Spin - 1st place
2022
THROWSTORM
Pro No Spin - 1st place
BATTLE OF THE BLADE MAIDENS
Advanced Rotational - 1st place
Advanced Hawk - 2nd place
Advanced No Spin - 1st place
Silhouette - 2nd place
GAME OF THROWS
Amateur Hawk - 2nd place
Euro Hawk 5 Meters - 3rd place
DANGERFEST
Pro No Spin - 2nd place
2023
BATTLE OF THE BLADE MAIDENS
Advanced Rotational - 1st place
Advanced Hawk - 1st place
Advanced No Spin - 1st place
Silhouette - 2nd place
IKTHOF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Pro No Spin - 2nd place
Fast Draw Knife - 3rd place
2024
BATTLE OF THE BLADE MAIDENS
Pro Rotational - 2nd place
Pro Hawk - 1st place
Pro No Spin - 1st place
Silhouette - 1st place
Speed Knives - 1st place
DANGERFEST
Trick Shot Open Class - 1st place
In 2022, Lauren competed on The History Channel’s “Mountain Man: Ultimate Marksmen” challenge series, episode ‘Blade Runners,’ on which she earned 2nd place.