Headwind provides lift for Greyhills discus throwers
Navajo Times | Adron Gardner Greyhills Academy Devine Hoskie windups for a discus throw during the Cougar Invitational in Show Low, Ariz., Friday. Hoskie surpassed the state qualification mark in Division IV with a 94 feet, 1 inch attempt.
Navajo Times | Adron Gardner
Greyhills Academy Devine Hoskie windups for a discus throw during the Cougar Invitational in Show Low, Ariz., Friday. Hoskie surpassed the state qualification mark in
Division IV with a 94 feet, 1 inch attempt.
SHOW LOW, Ariz.
It took her some time to get warmed up but when she did Greyhills Academy senior Devine Hoskie delivered a near-perfect performance.
With some apprehension, Hoskie scratched in her first two attempts at last Friday’s discus competition at the Cougar Invitational in Show Low, Ariz.
Hoskie had some trouble adjusting to the headwind as her two initial throws sailed too far to the left. But on her final attempt in the prelims, she threw an 80 feet effort that qualified her for the finals.
Greyhills Academy head coach Vaughn Salabye said the headwind threw a lot of kids “off-sector” but when it’s done correctly he noted that the headwind could help generate more lift, which in turns keeps the discus to stay afloat much longer.
“In her first two rounds her rotations were coming out a little to quick so she got tight,” he said. “But after she relaxed she started to throw some decent swings and her discus leveled out.”
In one of those successful attempts, Hoskie chuck the discus to a new personal best of 94-01, which beat the Arizona Division IV automatic qualification
Navajo Times | Adron Gardner
Greyhills Academy Stran Beard attempts a throw in the shot put event during the Cougar Invitational in Show Low, Ariz., Friday. Beard threw a personal best of 36 feet, 2.25 inches.
“I had to work on my technique because I kept (releasing) it towards the middle of the sector and the wind blew it,” Hoskie said of her first two attempts.
Hoskie admitted there were some concerns with her release but once she made the necessary adjustments she knew that she had a chance to get qualified for state as she enters the final two weeks of the regular season ranked No. 12 among her peers. (The state track meet is set for May 6-7 at Mesa Community College.)
Hoskie, who placed third overall, was not the only one to benefit from last Friday’s condition as Greyhills Academy freshman Stran Beard improved his marks by nearly 20 feet.
“Stran has had some training at the middle school level but he’s surprising me,” Salabye said. “He went from throwing 89 (feet) to over 100 in his last meet.”
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow