Winslow thrower medals in discus, earns state qualification

Posted by Quentin Jodie | May 10, 2023 | Sports |

MESA, Arizona

This year’s track season has been a sweet one for Winslow thrower Seth Matrecito.

Of the 11 meets he entered, Matrecito has placed eight times in the top 5 in the discus event. He’s also made five podium appearances in the shot put.

“This is the first time in my high school career getting medals for sports,” the Winslow senior said.

At last week’s Arizona Division IV Championships, he earned his latest medal by improving his personal best by 3 feet, 5 inches in the discus for a fourth-place finish.

“It was the environment mostly,” the Winslow thrower said of his new PR of 146-05. “Anytime there’s a really big competition you got get yourself in the right mindset.

“Once I got it up there I felt comfortable and it ended up being a PR, so everything paid off,” he added. “Being able to medal here was awesome.”

His previous best was hit during his home meet on April 24 when he landed the disc 143 feet as that earned him a fifth seed for the division championships on Saturday.

With that new PR, Matrecito earned a spot at this week’s Arizona Interscholastic Association Track and Field State Championships, which will be held at Mesa Community College starting on Friday and ending on Saturday.

The Winslow Bulldog is seeded No. 22 among 30 discus throwers in this statewide meet.

“That means everything for me,” Matrecito said. “All the hard work I put in is really paying off for me. With it being my senior, it’s the best thing that could have happened for me.”

Matrecito said he’s competed in track for two full seasons. Besides throwing, he’s dabbled in other events such as the long jump and high jump.

“I did shot my freshman year and I had only two meets when Covid hit,” he said. “My junior year I did shot and discus and after that I stuck with it because I enjoy it so much.”

As a two event qualifier for the divisional championships last week, Matrecito felt motivated to throw well in the discus on Saturday as he had some so-so results in the shot put during Friday’s meet.

“I’m not very happy about that,” he said. “My PR is 41-08, but I only threw 38 so it was a very disappointing.

“I was like, I have to throw good in discus,” he added.