Carl Flinton was just doing the basics when he began throwing the discus as a freshman.
And as Flinton went through that debut season of varsity for the Holt boys track team he realized the enjoyment he had throwing the discus.
From there, Flinton made it a point to study throwing, turning to YouTube to focus on studying techniques. That dedication has helped Flinton evolve into a standout for Holt.
Flinton, who was voted the latest LSJ boys high school athlete of the week winner, has built on his success with a strong start to his senior season. He set season bests with a strong showing at an invitational at Rockford where he won the discus with a throw of 177 feet, 11 inches and finished as the shot put runner-up with a toss of 50-9.
Flinton owns the top discus throw in Greater Lansing this spring and ranks fifth in the shot put.
“The 177 mark is pretty spectacular,” Holt coach Ross Malatinsky said. “That’s a pretty good mark in the discus. To be able to throw continually in the 50s for shot put — that’s a pretty good mark for a high school kid. It’s great to see him out there having success. He has certainly put a lot of work in so it’s nice to see him getting those results.”
The process was gradual for Flinton to get the results he desired, even after spending significant time studying throwing videos following his freshman year and then working in his basement and outside to master techniques.
“It was probably 12 hours a day almost,” Flinton said of watching throwing videos. “I didn’t sleep at night. I was only watching throwing videos. It was rough applying it that (sophomore) season but then junior year was my breakout year and that’s when I had my PR and I originally got my school record. I’m just hoping to have big things my senior year.”
Malatinsky believes the technical aspects of throwing Flinton has gained through his studies and his high-volume workload on reps has helped him become a strong high school thrower.
But Flinton isn’t satisfied and is still pushing for more. His mission for the rest of his senior season is to add to his school record in the discus and break the school shot put record.
”I want to go big, especially for discus.” Flinton said. “I want to hit 200. That’s been my goal since I started really grinding and caring about disc. For shot I would say just getting the school record. It’s 56-11 if I’m not mistaken so just hitting 57 would be my goal for shot.”
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Carl Flinton eyes big finish to throwing career for Holt boys track
Reporting by Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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