Thoreau discus thrower meets 3A state mark

GALLUP – Like hundreds of high school athletes across the state, Thoreau thrower Wade Plummer is competing for a bid to the New Mexico state track championships.

Plummer has one less event to worry about as the Thoreau senior beat the Class 3A state qualification mark by six inches Saturday in the discus event during the Angelo DiPaolo Invitational in Gallup.

Plummer hit a PR of 113-feet at the Miyamura High-hosted meet and placed third overall.

In his favorite event, Plummer won the shot put with a 40-feet effort, which is nearly two-feet off his season best of 41-11.

“The throw I had was pretty good, but it came off the wrong part of my hand,” Plummer said of his winning shot put throw. “It came off my palm instead of my fingers. If it came off my fingers, I would have thrown it at least two, three feet more.”

Plummer is looking to be a double-state qualifier as he is one-inch of meeting the state qualifying mark of 42-feet in the shot.

“I went to state last year, and I want to go again,” Plummer said. “I want to try and medal this year.”

Plummer uses the glide approach in his shot-put throws, but he’s dabbled with the spin technique too.

“I know how to use the spin, but I only do that at practice,” he said. “It’s not as consistent as my throws when I use the glide.”

Plummer credits his offseason work for the improvement he has made from last season. During his junior year, he topped the shot put event at 37-feet and he was hitting 100-feet in the discus.

“I’m throwing a lot farther, and that is why I want to medal at state,” he said.

According to MileSplit.com, Plummer has the second-best mark at the New Mexico 3A level in the shot put event. The top thrower in 3A is Cobre’s Derek Schuller, who hit a 51-07.50 mark at Monday’s Marilyn Sepulveda Meet of Champions in Albuquerque.

“I’ve seen him throw last year and I met him during the all-star football game last year,” Plummer said.

“He’s right up there,” Thoreau coach Erik Loera said. “I expect him to make state in his two throwing events. He should be able to make the podium with the throws he’s making.”

Elam Smith is another Thoreau athlete that is looking to get qualified for state. Smith won two field events on Saturday, winning the triple jump with a 36-10 effort and taking the long jump at 19-03.75 on his first attempt.

His 19-plus attempt in the long jump matched his personal best.

“I felt confident with that jump,” Smith said. “I made that jump before the 100 and after that I felt really tired.”

Smith is still looking to find his form in the triple jump. Last season, he hit a couple of marks above the 38-11 range, including a PR of 39-07.

“My first phase is really good, but I’m taking a step in my second phase instead of a hop,” Smith said. “It’s something I’m trying to work out.”

Once he corrects that mistake, Loera expects his pupil to have a breakout season.

“He hasn’t reach his full potential,” the Thoreau coach said. “He isn’t jumping as far as he was last year, but he did jump his PR in the long jump.

“He’s not as far in his triple jump and it’s because of his form,” Loera added. “He’s a gifted athlete and I know he’s going to be there at state for his long jump and triple jump for sure.”

The 3A state qualification marks for those events are 19-10 in the long jump and 38-09 in the triple jump. Last season, he earned his first medal by placing fifth in the long jump.

“Obviously, everybody wants to go to state,” Smith said. “I want to get on the podium again. I hope to make it a few more events.”

Smith is hoping to get qualified in the open 100 and 200 meter races as well as a few relay races.

“If he can make those qualifying marks, I can put him in the other events,” Loera said. “Once he qualifies, he can get into the other events because he wants to throw the discus and he wants to throw the javelin, but he’s got to qualify in his jumps first.”

The Thoreau coach also has high hopes for sophomore Colleen Moses-Perry. On Saturday, she placed third overall with a time of 1:07.49, which is three seconds off the 3A state qualification time.

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