By Tom Rohrer
What a difference a year can make. Entering his junior season on the Tumwater High School track team, Hunter Shaner, a shot-put thrower, did not have high expectations.
A fifty foot throw, a top ten distance in the state and an appearance at the state tournament meet seemed too lofty of goals for the grandson of former Tumwater High Athletic Director and standout track athlete Bob Shaner.
Little did Hunter know that not just one, but all three accomplishments would come to fruition in his senior year. Shaner went over fifty feet, hitting a personal best 50’5.75 in a meet vs. Black Hills High School earlier this season. It was the seventh best throw amongst 2A athletes this year.
To round out the trio of goals, Shaner will be competing in the 2A track meet this weekend at Mt. Tahoma High School.
Shaner’s throw of 49’7.00 at the 2A District 4 Championship last weekend earned him a third place district finish, and punched his ticket to the meet in Tacoma.
Not bad for a student who hadn’t competed in track and field prior to his sophomore year.
“Last year, it was just sort of learning the ropes for the first time,” said Shaner, whose best throw prior to his senior year was 35’2.00. “Now, I’m actually up there competing for titles and for state. It was kind of a dream last year and now it’s a reality.”
“Last year he probably didn’t dream of being a 50-foot thrower,” said Paul Kelly, an assistant THS track coach who advises the throwers. “It’s pretty amazing how far he has come.”
Shaner’s improvement is directly correlated to the arrival of Kelly to the T-Birds staff, which took place prior to the 2012 season. Under Kelly, Shaner, the starting center for the T-birds football team, could harness his strength, size and quick feet. All he needed was some technique instruction from Kelly, which is easy to see he obtained.
“He was a good sized kid with strength but he didn’t understand the techniques,” Kelly said. “He has a great appetite for learning and wants to know why things work the way they do. These events are a lot more technical than people on the outside realize. As far as biomechanics, kinesiology, it’s all aligned together. I’ve seen a lot of kids very big and strong that haven’t excelled and I’ve seen vice versa, where smaller and weaker kids end up being very prolific.”
“That was the key for me, just learning the fundamentals and basics of shot put throwing,” Shaner said. “I needed to focus on the small details and keep improving and I eventually did.”
Finishing ahead of Shaner in the state ranks and the district championship was Capital’s Andy Miller, who finished second to R.A. Longs Mitch Moe at last weekend’s championship. Both Kelly and his young pupil believe having strong competition at a nearby school has helped push Shaner to become the thrower he has.
“I always keep up to date on how he’s doing, or what he threw,” Shaner said of Miller. “It pushes me to see that, and helps me measure myself against the high level guys.”
“With athletes, you’re always going to have that type of competition, that kind of recognition,” Kelly said. “But I think it makes a big difference. If you’re a 48-foot thrower in a league of 38-foot throwers, you do not have the best chance of being a 50-foot thrower. If you have other guys competing at a high level, you will be driven to compete.”
Shaner’s competitive drive and physical talents within track and field have been bolstered by his experience on the gridiron.
“Football definitely carries over,” said Shaner, who helped lead the T-Bird football team to an appearance in the 2A state title game. “There’s lots of explosive power, hit and drag power. You need that to be successful in both sports.”
Unlike football, track and field is focused on the individual, where athletes, for the most part, are competing in their respective events alone. Shaner enjoys relying solely on himself, but still supports his other teammates competing in different events.
“There’s still that support out there. I’ll have friends who come watch me, and later I’ll come watch their event,” Shaner said. “But it’s cool that the pressure is all on you. You don’t have to rely on someone else’s performance, and that aspect is something unique to this sport.”
For Kelly, it’s been a great experience watching Shaner develop into the thrower he’s become.
“He’s a great, great kid with a great perspective on who he is and where his place is in life,” said Kelly. “Now, when I’m busy with other athletes or gone, I’ll have him work with the younger shot put throwers and show them the proper technique. I never thought I would be saying that a year ago, but that’s just a testament to how hard he’s worked and what type of person he is.”
While Shaner has certainly accomplished a lot this year, he isn’t satisfied quite yet.
“A dream of mine is to break the school record (61’7.00) and if I did that, I could probably win state,” Shaner said. “I just need to keep working, focusing on the little things and just manage my technique properly.”
Sure, a distance ten feet higher than a personal best is a difficult obtain goal to accomplish. But as he’s proven in the past year, it’s never smart to rule out Hunter Shaner.
The 2A boy’s shot put event at the state meet will take place on Friday, May 24, at 1 p.m. at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
