Outdoor T&F Preview: Throwing Events
Shot
Just like this past indoor season, the overwhelming favorite to strike it rich at the Meet of Championship this spring is Jacob Cookinham. The Bishop Stang senior was untouchable by his MA rivals during the winter and finished with a nation No. 1 and all-time best of 67 feet, 4.5 inches . Cookinham just may have a little extra motivation in the next few months to get closer to that 70-foot mark and win a national title after finishing third in this event at the New Balance Nationals a few weeks ago. While the Kansas-bound thrower should dominate inside the circle again in his final season as a high-schooler, there’s still plenty of talent behind him, beginning with Parker Charter’s Theo Puterbaugh, who is coming off a breakthrough indoor campaign. The Panther senior, a second-place finisher at the Meet of Champions on Feb. 25, unleashed the metal a PR of 56-7.25 at the New Balance Nationals, more than 10 feet further than his all-time best of from last year’s outdoor season. It wouldn’t surprise us to see him continue that upward trajectory this spring and inch close to that 60-foot mark. Peabody’s Alex Jackson, Lexington’s Allen JIang and Newton South’s Zezo Beshir have all gone in the mid 50-foot range and should certainly not be ignored. Beshir who was fourth at the outdoor states in 2022, has a top throw of 55-4.25 from NBN last spring.
Javelin
This event should be very competitive up front. Five of the state’s 10 best throwers are coming back this season, including defending champion Edward Webb of Wellesley (184-10) and Apponequet’s Logan Miller (182-4). our only two returnees who have exceeded 180 feet. There’s also North Attleboro’s Mason Briggs (171-2), North Reading’s Garrett Arden (169-3) and Palmer’s Brady Staheiski (169-1), who have a chance to make some noise this spring.
Discus
It’s tough to pick a favorite in this event, too. The top athlete coming back from 2022 is North Attleboro’s Mark Etienvre, who was third at the MOC last year with a PR of 158-0. His top competition this spring, is not too far behind. Puterbaugh (157-5) and Cookinham (154-0) have the potential to contend based on what they’ve done in 2022 in this event.
