On April 19, Issaquah Girls’ Field lost to Skyline and Bellevue within the throwing events with a score of 1-12-5. Within the field event, throwing athletes pushed themselves to new limits, with many athletes reaching new personal records (PRs) in their respective events. “Throwing” events consist of discus, shot put, and javelin, all of which have the goal of launching the object the furthest possible. For discus this object is a one-kilogram disc, shotput has a four-kilogram sphere, and javelin has a 600-gram spear. Sophomore Sara Cizek comments, “Most athletes do more than one event.” This was true throughout the meet, as individuals competed in numerous combinations of events, though many athletes choose to “specialize” in one category, as many of the athletes in girls’ shotput would compete in other throwing events. Sophomore Carrie Callans serves as an example, competing in shot put, javelin, and discus. Callans states, “I like discus more than shot put because discus is a lot more fluid; shot put feels more constrained and rigid.” 

Since the track and field team at Issaquah has so many events, they often run at the same time. For example, javelin and sprints might run at the same time, as they use completely different areas to compete. This is ultimately much more time efficient. For throwers, the evening began with the discus event, each player warming up with two sets of two practice shots. They eventually moved on to competition, where Cizek reached a new PR in the event with an 18’ 2” throw. After this concluded, the Girls’ shot put team competed, with multiple Issaquah athletes attaining PRs: junior Alexandra May, junior Isabella May, sophomore Juniper Kennedy, junior Marjorie Dougherty, and Cizek. Last, but not least, was javelin, where freshman Erin Chollman, junior Justine Lin, Alexandra May, junior Redah Baig, and Callans got personal bests as well..  

Coach Nyle Wattmans comments on the meet, stating, “It was a great game. We have some of the best athletes in the state here, and it is always a thrill watching athletes of that caliber compete.” The athletes agree on the thrill of the game, Callans saying, “The meet was very fun.”  Although Issaquah may have lost against Skyline, the throwing event athletes pushed themselves further than ever before, reaching new heights. Ultimately, sports are a competition to perform your best, which Issaquah can truly say it did. The achievements of the student-athletes, combined with the atmosphere of the event makes the meet a great one, regardless of whether Issaquah won or lost.