Tenholder leads Adrian with discus state title

Editor's Note: From May 2024

By Jimmy Gillispie

JEFFERSON CITY — The old adage of “you only need one good throw” fit Adrian junior Hank Tenholder’s state meet last weekend.

Only two of his six throws were marked during the Class 2 discus event. His four other throws were scratches.

But, he only needed one throw – his first throw – to win the state championship. Tenholder won his first state title with a throw of 49.8 meters (163 feet, 5 inches).

“It felt really good,” Tenholder said. “Last year, I had gotten fourth and three seniors were in front of me, so I had it in my mind that I would get it. But, it felt really good to get what I should get.

“There was definitely a lot of chirping from the other throwers because you’re with them all year,” he added. “There’s a bit of chirping because they know you’re going to throw pretty far. It’s definitely a lot of fun. They are friendly guys.”

Tenholder placed fourth last year with a throw of 157-3. The three competitors ahead of him were seniors, as were four more of the top nine throwers. All in all, 11 of the 16 competitors were seniors last year.

Friday’s event began well for Tenholder. He set a mark of 163-5 on his first throw, easily taking lead of the event. After a scratch on his second throw, Tenholder threw 156-9 on his final throw in the prelims. His second throw was still better than any other competitor threw.

In the finals, Tenholder scratched all three of his attempts. It wasn’t a performance Tenholder was extremely proud of, but he said the state title made up for it.

“In my warmups, I was taking it slow and I knew I was close to 50,” Tenholder said. “I was planning on taking it slow and I was scared to scratch. I took my first one slow, and after that I tried to get better, but I didn’t get any better. I think four of my six were scratches. It wasn’t my best meet. My PR is two feet away from the school record, so I was really trying to get that. It was kind of bittersweet to win but not get the school record.”

Tenholder said all of his scratches were out of bounds on the right side of the landing sector. He said they were possibly his best throws, but out of bounds.

“I think I was maybe a bit antsy or throwing it harder than I should have been trying to throw it,” Tenholder said. 

Tenholder is already setting goals for next year’s state meet. In addition to defending his title, he wants to qualify in the shot put and javelin events, too.

“A goal for next year is the state record,” Tenholder said. “I think I’m under 10 feet from that. It would be really cool to get the state record and the school record.”

Sophomore Ian Yoss finished 11th in the discus. His best throw was 38.68 meters (126-11).

Sophomore Bryson Jacobs also had a successful state meet as a thrower. Jacobs finished as the Class 2 state runner-up in the javelin. His best throw was 52.65 meters (172-9).

Opposite of Tenholder, Jacobs saved his best throw for last. He was in fifth place until throwing his final toss more than two meters further than his previous throw. 

Jacobs briefly led the event until South Shelby’s Gabriel Brown launched the winning throw on his final attempt. He had only two throw that counted.

Juniors Colton Miller and Mason Rusow became all-state competitors on the track. Miller placed fifth in the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 40.53 seconds. Rusow finished fourth in the 400-meter dash, breaking his own school record time again and setting the new mark at 49.41 seconds. They also competed in the triple jump and high jump, respectively.