Catonsville High School track and field fans attending the Baltimore County championship meet at Pikesville High on Saturday, May 9 might want to focus on the field events. That's because the Comets' girls and boys teams feature two of the top throwers in the state.
For the girls, senior discus thrower Taylor Giles has the longest throw in Maryland at 132 feet, 3 inches.
For the boys, senior Zach Delker has the sixth-longest throw in the state in shot put at 51 feet, 4.50 inches. It is also second best among Class 4A schools, against whom Delker will compete in the state championship meet.
Pole vaulter Ben Mansfield, whose clearing height of 13 feet is tops in Baltimore County (eighth best in the state) and Sequan Smith, whose high jump (5-10) is tied for tops in the county, are also strong.
The top overall field event participant is Maja Wichhart, but her specialty — the heptathlon — is not a county-sanctioned event. Still, she a threat in the triple jump, long jump and 200 meters. Wichhart is going to the University of Colorado Boulder on a track scholarship.
Giles has gained attenton because of her meteoric rise to the top in the discus. Her longest throw last season was 85 feet. This year, she has thrown over 129 feet in four different meets.
Those throws and her personal best, 132-3 in a tri-meet with Lansdowne and Western Tech on April 21, are memorable the moment they happen. "You can feel it and you're like 'Whoa,' and it's just crazy," Giles said.
Throwing the discus was not Giles' intention after getting to Catonsville as a freshman. She wanted to play on the boys baseball team.
"I tried out for baseball and I got cut so they were like, 'Try out for softball,' so I ended up making jayvee," she said.
After softball season Giles suffered a freak accident when her Achilles' tendon was cut when someone opened a door as she was walking through it. After reinjuring the Achilles' tendon two more times, she switched to indoor and outdoor track and field for her junior and seniors seasons.
Giles has thrown the shot put during both seasons and the discus in the spring because it's only an outdoors event.
During the past indoor season she won the Baltimore County title in the shot put and finished fourth in the state meet. Her longest throw of 37-4.50 was second best in the county during the winter season.
In the spring, she has won two shot put events in leagues meets, but she has dominated in the discus — winning every meet this season, including triumphs in the Pikesville Track Classic and Gator Invitational at Reservoir High.
Her victory at the Gator Invitational earned the Comets' girls team 10 of its 19 points.
Wichhart earned the other nine by placing fourth in the triple jump (34-11.5), seventh in the long jump (15-9.5) and seventh in the 200 meters (26.76).
Giles' improvement has stunned coach Barrett Garvin, who coached the throwers indoors and leads the boys' team in the spring.
"I haven't seen the dramatic improvement in others like her that is so eye-popping," Garvin said. "Part of her with discus is she's got maybe a gift ... and maybe it needed to be brought out."
Giles, who has signed with Towson University, credits personal coach Tyler Blatchley and repetition as keys to her success.
"It's definitely putting the work in," she said. "As long as you keep practicing and do the same motions over and over again, it definitely helps."
Fortunately, she doesn't have any lingering effects from the Achilles' injury.
"Obiviously, it doesn't affect it (throwing) too much," she said. At first it was weird because I have like a limp, but it's a lot better strength-wise."
At the Gator Invitational, the Catonsville boys finished in a tie for seventh with 33 points in the 34-team field.
Delker was first in shot put (51-0.75) and second in discus (144-03). He has placed first in shot put in all six meets this spring and first in two and second in four meets in discus.
Mansfield was first in pole vault (13 feet) and Smith was fourth in high jump (5-10) at the Gator Invitational.