CALN TWP. — From participants to coaches, fans to officials, the unending rain made it hard on everybody during the discus competition at the boys District 1 Class 3A championships Saturday at Coatesville Area High School.
So much precipitation had accumulated in the throwing circle that a meet official used a leaf blower between rounds in a bid to clear it … with limited results.
None of it bothered an under-the-radar finalist, Brian Seals of Strath Haven. The unheralded senior and mentor to Panthers teammate Gavin Schmidt, the top seed in the discus, powered through three throws in the final round, improving on almost every one to win gold with a personal record of 163 feet, two inches. That was almost 20 feet farther than his previous best.
The winning launch triggered a noisy celebration from family, including his mother Monique, teammates including Schmidt, and Panthers coaches, including coach Bill Coren.
“Honestly, the feeling is indescribable,” Seals said. “There’s not a word that can describe that feeling when everything just goes right. I just felt a good pop at the finish. Honestly, when I was told what the distance was, I didn’t even believe it.”
Seals was the only guy to throw the discus more than 160 feet, and he did it twice. His final throw was 160-03.
Jacob Tannenbaum of Central Bucks East finished second, as he uncorked a throw of 159-10 on his first attempt.
Schmidt delivered a throw of 154-05 in the medal round after managing just 146-0 to qualify for the final.
“I’m really happy for Brian,” Schmidt said. “He deserves it. He’s been putting in a lot of work. He definitely deserves it. I came in as him being my mentor and I’m really happy that he’s doing well.”
Impossible as it was to keep the discus dry, Seals used an interesting strategy to maximize his grip. Wrapping a towel around the discus as if it was a baby after a bath, Seals carried it up to the throwing circle, uncovering it at the last possible second.
“It was a really nasty day to throw,” Seals said. “I just kept sticking to my technique and talking to my coaches. And my mom helped me out a little bit, just getting me to slow down my throw. I was able to figure out the back of the circle and really nail my technique. And shout out to Coach (Bill) Coren, he just told me to treat every throw like it was a practice throw. That’s exactly what I did, and we got a PR and won districts.”
Schmidt had a rough day as he fouled on four of his six attempts. At the same time Schmidt was 22nd and last in the districts last year with a throw of 106-10. Though this is the first meet he hasn’t won this season, having thrown 179 at the Delco championships and 173-10 at the Central League championships, it’s been an amazing trip from where he was to where he is now.
“I was coming in here hoping to hit 180,” Schmidt said. “I was getting close to the district record. But at the end of the day, I wanted to go to states. To be able to g.o is really an accomplishment. I’m really happy. Last year I didn’t get to go. I’ll just try to come back stronger at states.”
The District 1 Class 3A discus record is 183-7 and was established in 2012 by Ryan Hart of Downingtown East.
While Seals didn’t threaten that, he looked more formidable on each of his final three throws. Quite an accomplishment considering the elements and that his previous best was 146-5 at the Central League championships two weeks ago.
“I woke up this morning and I didn’t know I was going to make the district championship,” Seals said. “I came in with the goal to make states but waking up this morning I didn’t think I was going to be No. 1. But you know, all glory to God, I was able to do it today.”
Among other throws, junior Sean Leahy of Haverford was ninth in the discus as his best throw was 137-06. And in the javelin competition, Strath Haven’s Enoch Liu finished fifth with a PR of 166-0.
