BROOKVILLE — James Parenti was pushed this past offseason by a very small unit of measure.

One inch.

That was the margin by which he missed matching Moniteau's school record in winning the District 9 Class AA boys discus title with an effort of 158 feet in 2018.

He surpassed that mark with a heave of 171 earlier this season. He topped that with a district meet record throw of 171-10 to defend his title Friday at Brookville High School's Raider Stadium.

“I'm actually glad I didn't get the (school) record last year,” Parenti said. “It gave me something to work for.

“After my performance today in the shot put (second place and a trip to states with a 48-6), I was ready to have some fun in the discus. I felt at home here this year, so much more relaxed.”

A senior, Parenti was the heavy favorite in the discus, nearly 29 feet ahead of second-seeded Bailey Blint of Kane.

Parenti's improvement over last year is due to, as he put it, “doubling down on everything.”

He's hoping to carry that momentum into his final high school meet, the state championships next Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University.

“I placed fourth in the discus there last year,” he said. “My first throw was 155, but it ended up being my best throw. This time, I want to match that with my first throw and build on it with the rest instead of watching people pass me up.”

Joining Parenti atop the medal stand was teammate and fellow senior Kyle Norling, who won the pole vault title with a height of 14 feet.

It was considerably better than the 12-6 he had in finishing runner-up here last year.

“It's been a mix of everything, both mental and physical,” said Norling. “My coaches have helped me a ton.”

Norling also benefits from a distinct mind-set. Though he was ranked first in the district entering Friday's event — eight inches better than Kane's Teddy Race thanks to a school-record vault of 14-2 earlier this season — he sees himself as just another competitor.

“I put myself in the middle of the pack at meets like this,” he said. “I don't want to get too cocky.”

Karns City's Hunter Jones continued his improvement in the 400-meter run.

As a sophomore here two years ago, he placed eighth. Last year, he soared to second place and a trip to states.

He now has district gold to his credit after winning the event with a time of 49.71 seconds.

“At meets like this or big invites, the top guys seem to get sub-50,” he said. “That's what I wanted to do here today.

“I spent a lot of time in the weight room and am now just one-tenth of a second from breaking the school record.”

Gremlins' coach Eric Fritch had high hopes for Jones on Friday.

“Nothing's a sure thing,” he said, “but I had a good feeling about his chances.

“It's the dedication Hunter has,” he added. “He has the drive and the will and works very hard.”

Jones will also be competing in the 1,600 relay at states. He teamed with Ryan Truax, Kaden Scherer and Erik Pfeifer to place second.

Moniteau's Ethan McDeavitt reached the state meet as well. He placed third in the 300 hurdles, but met the qualifying standard with a time of 40.52.

For information on the girls portion of the meet, See Page D2.