Hawley looks for two state titles

Dayton High’s Zach Hawley can’t wait for the weekend.

The senior shot put and discus specialist is excited about defending his state shot put title, and he hopes to add a discus title to his resume at this week’s Division 1-A State Track & Field Championships Friday and Saturday at Carson High’s Jim Frank Track & Field Complex.

“I’m ecstatic,” Hawley said in a phone interview before Monday’s practice. “Everything is coming together at the right time. I’m very confident.

“It is bittersweet (too). Everybody who helped make me who I am I’ll be saying good-bye to, and that aspect sucks. Everything I worked for is paying off, and I get to go off to Cornell and continue what I love doing.”

Hawley has dominated both events in northern Nevada, and when he walks into the shot put ring at Carson High this weekend, he’s going to see Boulder City’s Sam Gomez, who beat him in the discus last year. Gomez was seventh in the shot put and has a best of 54-5 in the shot.

“There really is nobody in the north (close),” he said. “I think the next closest is (Sam) Gomez.”

The discus is another story, however. Gomez has a best of 179 this year, 10 feet better than Hawley’s best mark of the year.

The pair already are good friends, and it’s a good thing, because both will be at Cornell.

“We talk all the time on Instagram,” Hawley said. “I’ve already requested that he be my roommate at Cornell. We’re talking about who is going to bring a microwave and who is going to get the fridge.”

Dayton coach Mike Paul likes Hawley’s chances in both events, but especially the shot put.

“He’s getting dialed in,” Paul said. “He had one about 60-5 last week (that didn’t count). He throws his best in big meets.”

Paul pointed out Hawley has been all about progression. He was at 40-9 3/4 and 119 as a freshman. Paul knew he had something special when Hawley came out as a freshman.

“He ended up throwing 40 feet his freshman year which was pretty good,” Paul said. “Anybody I’ve had throw that far as a freshman has made the state meet.”

Before Hawley’s career could really take off, though, Paul had to convince Hawley the pole vault wasn’t in his future. Picture a 200-pounder down the vault runway and you see Hawley.

Hawley started the season with an 8-foot vault and finished the season with a best of 10-6.

“It was something I always wanted to do,” said Hawley, laughing. “I was maybe 25 pounds lighter than I was now. I enjoyed it.

“I tried it a couple of times my sophomore year. My body was high and technique low. Each time I tried it, I felt like my arms were coming out of my socket.”

Hawley had a whopping 12-foot improvement in the shot put from his freshman to sophomore year and a massive 37-foot improvement in the discus. The last two years he’s improved but in smaller increments.

“Between my freshman and sophomore year was a big year in terms of development,” Hawley said. “I was figuring my technique out and I got stronger. From sophomore to junior year it was more about technique than strength. This year it’s been a combination of both.”

One thing that sets Hawley apart from many athletes of today is he’s extremely coachable. When Paul changed his technique last year, Hawley didn’t fuss or argue about it. He just went about his business.

“I’d been teaching the spin technique,” Paul said. “We went to more of a drop approach. To some the changes were subtle. For the athlete, the changes were huge. We tried to emulate Mac Wilkins.”

“It is called the 9 o’clock drop,” Hawley said. “The transition from back to the middle of the ring without losing altitude in your body. I started to feel more comfortable after a while.”

It was a slow process. Hawley threw 52 in Fallon at the beginning of the season, but has steadily improved. It took a while to figure it out.

“It’s a two-step forward and one step back,” Paul said. “He understood it was a process.”

Indeed. Hawley is smart, mature and a student of the sport.

“When I started talking with him, it was apparent that we would click well as a coach and athlete,” said Cornell throws coach Megan Johnson. “I think it’s really important to the success of an athlete and a program. He is very determined and a true student of the event, which I love. I think he is going to do very well here.”

Hawley ranks first all-time in shot and he’s just behind Josh Koch for the school record in the discus. Koch, now throwing at Concordia University in Portland, has the Dayton discus record at 170-1.

“Yeah, I’m sure he would like to get the (discus) record,” Paul said. “Zach isn’t about records. He’s more interested in getting better everyday.”

“I talk to Josh all the time, and he keeps asking me when I’m going to break his record,” Hawley said. “I know if I put it together, I can do it. I’m not worrying about it. I just want to win the titles.”