On their way to states
BROOKVILLE — The discus was Jacob Boy's best event — until Friday.
Shortly after he missed qualifying for the PIAA meet in the discus with a third-place finish at the District 9 Class AA Track and Field Championships at Brookville High School, the Moniteau senior redeemed himself in the shot put.
On his last throw of the day, Boy managed a personal-best heave of 50 feet, 8¼ inches. The effort earned him the district title in the shot put, an event that usually takes a back seat to the discus.
"Not going to states in the discus, it was pretty upsetting at first," said Boy, whose throw in the event was 147-6. "But I just turned my focus to the shot. I don't even want to think about the discus now. The shot is my best event."
Boy passed his previous best mark in the shot put by nearly 10 inches.
"I was hoping to get 50-3 in the shot put today," he added, an effort that would have sent him to states no matter where he finished Friday. "But going as a district champion has a nice ring to it.
"I'm going for Matt Schandelmeier's school record (54-0) at states," he added.
Two teammates, Nathan Guterry and Victor Santoyo, will join Boy at the state meet.
Santoyo automatically qualified for PIAAs by placing second in the high jump with a personal-best height of 6-4 and in the triple jump (43-10Z\v).
He won the district title in the triple jump last year with a 44-1C\v.
"His triple jump at last year's district meet was considerably further than anything else he was able to do during the season," said Moniteau coach Mark Kosick. "But this season, he's been between 43 and 44 feet the whole year. He's much more consistent this season."
Guterry placed second in the discus at 148 feet.
"I wanted 150 today," said Guterry, whose best in the event is a 148-6 at a meet at Redbank Valley earlier this season. "A 148 was good enough to get me to states and I'm satisfied for now. But next week, I'm going after the school record (158)."
Karns City's boys will be represented at states by Tyler Marsinetti and the 400 relay squad of Dylan Surrena, Nick Lopresti, Dustin Scheerbaum and Glenn Toy.
Marsinetti was second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.04 seconds.
"I was a high jumper last year," said Marsinetti, a sophomore. "But we didn't have anybody to run the hurdles this season, so I switched events.
"I knew the kid from Kane (Andrew Lake, first place) was pretty fast, so I was just hoping to get second place and go to states. It was a pretty good day for me," he added.
The Gremlins' 400 relay team also was a runner-up (45.05), just .08 seconds behind Otto-Eldred.
