YAKIMA — Losing isn’t a word printed in Ethan Thayer’s dictionary.
So when the Onalaska High School star took second place in the discus and fourth place in the shot put at the Oregon Relays, it didn’t sit well with him. Even though his discus competitor was Mead’s Simon Rosselli, the all-classification leader in the discus and an Oregon recruit.
As Thayer left Eugene and went back home, he was blunt to describe his day at Hayward Field.
“I remember the embarrassment of losing,” Thayer stated. “I didn’t prove myself.”
Those days are a thing of the past.
Thayer avoided some early hiccups in the discus to post a winning toss of 174 feet, 10 inches and a handful of hours later, uncorked a new Class 2B state record of 63-02.50 and secure a sweep of the throws at the state track and field championships held at Zaepfel Stadium.
It’s the second straight discus state title for the Loggers junior and his first shot put gold medal.
“It is pretty cool,” Thayer said. “Previous season I was aiming towards higher goals, but I'm just focused on winning.”
The winning streak started at the Lower Columbia Invite, the first time Thayer threw 180-plus in the discus. It never came to an end.
He’s reset his PR several times through April and May. At his core, Thayer is a perfectionist, not satisfied unless he gets a career-best mark. Friday’s only goal was to be on top of the podium.
Still, he admitted the competition between him and River View’s Miguel Cruz – the previous state record holder in the shot – made it all that more fun and enjoyable.
“That just drove me to keep going,” Thayer said.
Cruz’s second throw, his only registered throw in the shot put, was over 58 feet to take the lead. Thayer popped a 59-foot throw to get back in front and never look back. His winning throw came on his third attempt.
For the fifth time this spring, Thayer’s best mark was over 60 feet. As the state runner-up last season, his best throw was over 55 feet.
“I love track because it is just you against yourself,.” Thayer said. “It has definitely shown me what you put in, you get out of it.”
Discus was a rollercoaster and the elements provided a wild card. Rain made the throwing ring slippery and it caused Thayer to lose his balance twice. Just to make the finals, he did a half-spin and barely got his throw of 157-11 inside the line.
“I wasn’t used to it, but I am glad I came back,” Thayer said. “I was not happy at all.”
The right-hander took the lead with his fourth throw of 168-10 and then threw six feet farther on his final attempt. He hugged District 4 compadre Cooper Fallon afterwards. Thayer will compete in some junior olympics this summer and continue to refine his craft.
What remains out there is a 200-foot discus throw and 65 feet in the shot put.
“I have the ability, just need to put it all together,” Thayer said.
Fallon, Morgan Allen and Nolan Hornsby all medaled in the discus while Hornsby added a second medal in the shot.
Morton/White Pass junior Mathew Parvin became a three-time state medalist in the long jump with a best leap of 21-08.50, a half-inch PR. He was in the lead after the first flight, then Mount Vernon Christian’s Jaxon Silver jumped 21-10.25 on his first attempt in flight two.
Parvin has now finished sixth, seventh and second in his marquee event.
“I am happy with what happened,” Parvin said.
The T-Wolves star recorded a then-PR at the Chehalis Activators of 21-08, but hadn’t come close to that mark until the district meet. His first three jumps were all over 21 feet. His final three were 16 feet, foul and 17 feet.
Once he landed in the pit on his final jump, he slammed his hand in frustration.
“My left foot kept showing up and I’m a right foot jumper, that was mainly why I was frustrated,” Parvin said. “I moved up to a half-stride and see if that would change anything and it still felt so off.”
He’ll be in Class 1B next spring as a Morton Husky where the goal remains the same: Win a state title.
“I’m going to try my hardest, but I am excited for it,” Parvin said. “Put everything into it, training and the meets. I’ll do my best.”
Toledo’s Adam Kruger nabbed his second medal of the weekend with a fourth place finish and MWP’s Logan Mays took sixth. In Class 1A, Tenino’s Parker Minerich (discus) and Rochester’s Le’Shawn Hines (long jump) both recorded eighth place performances.
In the 2B high jump, Adna’s Grayson Humphrey placed third with a best clearance of 5-10. He didn’t miss when the bar was at 5-6, 5-8 and 5-10, but missed all three of his chances at 6-0.
Not bad for the junior that picked up the event this season.
“It is always good to come here and medal,” Humphrey said. “There’s some talented guys there, you got to beat them out.”
Freeman’s Trenton Sandborn, a Montana recruit, set the new 2B record with a clearance of 6-10 plus RSB’s Chris Banker was second at 6-4. Humphrey admitted his form was not up to par in order to keep up with Banker and Sandborn.
Yet he feels he’s only scratching the surface.
“It was a lot of fun,” Humphrey said. “Next year I’ll be practicing it a lot more. It’ll be a lot different.”
