Reece Whinery had himself a day – or at least a really successful 24 hours.
The Southeast Polk senior entered the Thursday, May 21, discus event at the Iowa high school state track and field meet as an underdog, recording a middle-of-the-pack throw – 13th out of 24 – in the qualifying meet.
He spent the next week preparing for his moment, but his focus may have been split.
The night before competing in the state meet – on May 20 – he kicked off the baseball season in style, knocking a home run over the fence in Southeast Polk’s convincing win over Des Moines Roosevelt.
On Thursday, he stepped into the circle for the Class 4A boys discus competition and gave it his best. He threw 179 feet, 9 inches on his first attempt, which propelled Whinery into first place.
“It’s awesome,” Whinery said about claiming the title. “I always knew I had it in me, and you’ve just got to come in here with confidence and smile a little bit and have some fun, so that’s what I did.”
He never relinquished control of that top spot, but he did improve upon it.
Whinery’s fifth throw traveled 183 feet and 3 inches, a winning distance that put Southeast Polk at the top of the podium in the event for the first time ever, according to the Iowa High School Athletic Association record book.
“It does,” responded Whinery, when asked if it felt special to represent the Rams on the podium. “My throwers coach had the school record before me, and he’s been awesome, guiding me and showing me the way was huge to my success.”
It took Whinery only two full seasons to secure a state title.
He picked up the sport as a sophomore, just to have something to do between the end of the football season and the beginning of the baseball season. He didn’t get very far, though, requiring surgery on his knee and keeping him out for most of that season.
But for those who know his family ties, it shouldn’t be a surprise that it only took Whinery two years to come away with a state title.
His grandfather is Ron McEachran, who spent nearly 30 years as an assistant track and field coach at Iowa State. He now gets to enjoy track meets as a spectator – these days donning the grandfather hat.
“It’s nerve-wracking because you’ve seen what he can do, and he’s got potential with the leverage that he has at 6-foot-7,” McEachran said to the Des Moines Register. “But after that first throw, he’s in the finals, so that took the pressure off.”
His cheeks were still damp with happy tears when he answered questions about his grandson, but it’s hard to turn off his coach’s brain completely.
“Well, in the finals, he was getting a long pull on it in the middle of the ring,” McEachran said when asked what he saw from Whinery’s winning throw. “You look at the first flight, he throws 178, then 130-something, and 140. He got too quick.
“In the finals, he got in better positions. He got in the center of the ring, so he’s got a longer pull on it.”
McEachran knows a thing or two about track and field, but he tries to keep his coaching to a minimum with his grandson. He leaves that to the coaches at Southeast Polk, who helped Whinery make school history in boys discus.
And what comes next for Whinery, who took home his first track and field state title in the final event of his high school career?
Baseball, of course, with the Rams scheduled for a doubleheader against ADM just a few hours after Whinery stood atop the podium.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Reece Whinery wins Southeast Polk’s first-ever boys discus state title
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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