CARSON CITY — Imagine a 12-round bout among three boxers fighting for supremacy.
Blow for blow. Block for block.
Now, trade out the boxers for discus throwers and you have Friday’s three-way battle for the Division I-A state title.
Fallon junior TJ Mauga, Dayton’s Zach Hawkley and Boulder City’s Samuel Gomez traded throw for throw in windy conditions at Carson High School. After Gomez impressed with a throw that nearly reach the end of the field, Mauga saved his best for last. He stratched on his first attempt but got stronger and stronger.
The result: 181 feet, 11 inches and the silver medal.
“I kind of pushed that aside and worked on the next throw. I just climbed on every throw,” Mauga said. With the last throw, I was going for 170 or something. Don’t think about nothing and just throw it. The wind picked it up just right and I threw it high enough to where it just caught and it kept carrying.”
Mauga bested rival Hawkley, who turned in a 180-1 performance, but both couldn’t match Gomez. Gomez won the state title with a throw of 189-11.
“The highlight was definitely TJ in the discus. That was one of the best discus competitions I have ever seen,” Fallon boys coach Steve Heck said. “Having three kids break the state record was incredible. TJ had a great series of throws, increasing his PR on several of his throws, but he saved the best for last, getting an 18-foot PR and jumping himself into second place on his very last throw.”
It was a throwdown for the ages as all three not only broke records but they were able to outperform on each throw.
“He, Zack Hawley and Samuel Gomez can all be proud of their achievement of Saturday,” Heck said. “What a fun competition to watch.”
Mauga also took fifth in the shot put with a throw of 45-0.75 but Hawkley won this battle. He launched the 12-pound ball 60-1 to win the state title.
“I started off a little sluggish at first but cleaned up my technique. I came up a little short,” Mauga said.
For the girls, Leann Stands also surprised the competition by finishing third in the discus, her only event. Stands, a junior, threw for 98-6 and had the best finish from the north as Cheyenne’s Ariel Washington won it at 107-1.
Stands, though, admitted that she could have done better.
“Having get third not with a good throw feels OK,” she said. “Probably next year, I need to be more serious.”
Fallon girls coach Paul Orong looks forward to his thrower’s future and was pleased with her performance on Saturday.
“I was really pleased with what she accomplished to take third,” he said.