ASHLAND − At the very beginning of the boys discus event on Friday evening during the Ohio Cardinal Conference track and field meet at Ashland University, West Holmes’ Maddax Graham had put himself into a little bit of a bind.
On his first throw, Graham tossed it out of bounds, which put a some pressure on him to get it right the next time.
But what he focused on correcting after that was pretty clear to him: technique.
“I was too open. I was throwing my left into the middle and I needed to be more patient,” said Graham afterwards. “I needed to let my lower body work in front of my upper body. That’s what I worked on and it showed in my throws.”
It did.
On his second throw in the final round (each thrower got three throws in the final), Graham buckled down and heaved a throw of 159′ 10″. On his third and final throw of the day, the junior got low and threw with all his might, and reached 169′ 5″. The only problem was that it landed just outside the line, making his discus throw of 159′ 10″ the furthest throw of the day that clinched Graham his first discus title at the OCC meet of his preps career.
Said Graham, “I knew I was in first place on that last throw. I was feeling some pain in my right leg, so I probably should have saved that. They actually measured it at 169′ 5″, which would have been my OCC meet PR (personal record).”
If anything, Graham had to be at his best against a field featuring Madison Comprehensive’s Jaxin Stancombe (2nd place; threw 154′ 0″), last year’s discus winner in Wooster’s Wylie Fuqua (3rd place; 152′ 6″) and Ashland’s Greyson Blough (4th place; 148′ 9″).
“I knew Greyson’s PR was 152. I knew coming into this it wasn’t going to be an easy win and I was going to have to work for it,” said Graham, who’s discus personal best is 168′ 11″, which he threw at the West Holmes-Dover Dual in late-April. “The Madison kid threw a PR that put me down to second, so I knew I was going to have to step up and I did.”
Right around this time at last year’s OCC meet in Graham’s sophomore year, he finished fifth (140′ 3″) in the discus. This season, he’s made a considerable jump in nailing winning results.
Heading into Friday’s OCC meet, Graham had finished first in the discus event four times and first in the shot put three times at track meets/invitationals, as he has stood out as one of the top field event performers throughout the Wayne/Holmes County area this track season. His steady form this season trickles down to keying in on his technique.
“Especially with me being a smaller guy, I have to lean on technique. I just can’t muscle my way through,” Graham explained, talking about his work in the discus. “I do have to end up getting a lot of force on it at the end of the throw. Honestly, it’s making sure I’m eating the right foods. Getting enough nutrition. Going to the gym and getting stronger. The biggest thing is staying consistent.”
To go along with a more keen focus on getting his technique right, Graham said it’s his ability to take his time in those two events.
“Technique-wise, it’s really just patience. Making sure that you’re hitting every position. Lower body first. Just keep things consistent every meet. You have something that you can think about in every throw and keeping it the same.”
Regarding the jump that Graham has made in his junior season, he did say that he is surprised at the results he’s been able to obtain this season.
“It was a little surprising. I wasn’t expecting to take first at every meet but I have to say, I did expect some bigger things this year. My freshman year, I threw 151. Last year, I threw 148. That sophomore slump really hit me. I knew I needed to work harder and change things or otherwise things wouldn’t change.”
Even after placing fifth in the shot put (50′ 2″) earlier in the afternoon, Graham wasn’t too bummed out about it. He’s looking towards to next week’s OHSAA district meet.
“If I had thrown close to my PR today, I would have placed better than I did,” Graham added. “Can’t be upset. Big throws don’t matter until districts next week.”
jamessimpson@gannett.com
Twitter/X: @JamesSimpsonII
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Sound technique key in West Holmes’ Maddax Graham’s discus win at OCC meet
Reporting by James Simpson II, Wooster Daily Record / The Daily Record
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