NEW YORK — Jordan Geist unleashes a shot put throw at the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet Saturday at the Armory in the heart of New York City.

There is a throng of onlookers crowding the throwing pit, all eager to see if Geist, a Knoch senior, can break the national record.

His throw lands 75 feet, 4¾ inches away — easily a meet record and more than three feet better than Geist’s closest competitor.

But short of the national mark.

There is only a smattering of applause.

Most of the spectators even seem disappointed.

“The expectations are enormous,” Geist said. “If I would have thrown 73 feet and won, it would have been like, ‘Oh, he choked.’ I threw 75-4 and like five people were clapping.”

Geist’s biggest opponent these days is not some of the best high school shot put throwers from around the nation and the world, but the legendary aura surrounding him.

He’s garnered nicknames such as “Knochness Monster” and “Kong of Knoch Island” and each week he is expected to perform some herculean feat of throwing.

The whispers rise from the gallery, “Can he hit 78 feet? Or can he even hit 80?”

But all Geist cares about is winning, as he did — again — Saturday, defending his national title and shattering a meet record he already held.

“I feel like a statement was definitely made there,” Geist said.

Even if outsiders don’t always hear it.

“They wanted him to get a national record, but that doesn’t mean anything to him,” said Judy Geist, Jordan’s mother and throwing coach. “The people that support him understand that. It frustrates me at times.”

Jordan Geist, though, has been able to keep the enormous pressure off his broad shoulders.

He does it by keeping sight of the fact throwing the shot put and winning is fun.

He does that by playfully wearing a Taylor Swift shirt while he competes or by joking around with other competitors before things get serious.

“It’s tough sometimes to try to keep it fun,” Geist said. “That’s why I wear the Taylor Swift shirt over my uniform. It kills two birds with one stone. It’s fun and it draws more people to watch me.”

Geist is still hopeful that even Swift herself will notice one day.

“Hey, it’s her loss right now,” Geist said jokingly.

What hasn’t been a joke is how close Geist has come to breaking the national indoor record of 77-2¾ set in 2011 by Ryan Crouser, who won the gold medal in the shot put in Rio this past summer.

Geist actually had two throws that would have broken that mark Saturday, but fouled on both.

One was close to 78 feet.

He stepped out of the front of the circle both times.

“It’s tough whenever you get that close, but it’s also good,” Geist said. “If I can fix a couple of technical things, I’ll be able to keep it in.”

Geist also threw 79-4½ in the weight throw Sunday to finish second.

His weight throw is the 14th best in the country.

Not bad for only throwing it seven times this season.

“It’s two-and-a-half feet better than my personal best,” Geist said. “I got that early in the year and I thought, ‘Well, I’m not getting close to that again.’”

Today, Geist and his mother are heading to Harrisburg to be recognized by Rep. Brian Ellis.

“That’ll be exciting,” Geist said. “What won’t be exciting is wearing a suit for three hours in the car there and back.”

He’d prefer a Taylor Swift shirt instead, perhaps.

“What people forget is he’s still a kid,” Judy Geist said. “It’s his senior year and I want him to have as much fun as he can.”