Cassidy Clark is a State Track and Field Champion and oh, she’s a runner-up too

[May 14, 2018] 

Cassidy Clark represented Mount Pulaski Grade School at the IESA Class A State Track and Field Meet in East Peoria on Friday and in true thrilling Clark fashion the eighth grade standout track and field athlete won first place in the shot put AND later in the day she placed second in the discus. What an amazing feat!

The shot put win was an unexpected surprise, while it was obvious the discus finish was just a minor disappointment to Clark. Clark had finished in 10th place at State last year in the discus and her goal was to win it all this year. With an amazing throw of 113’ 8” last weekend at Sectionals, the young athlete was focused on that top spot on the podium. Her best discus throw on Friday was 100’ 8” so obviously short of her record and goal. But the young girl who beat her out in discus, Olivia Birge of Sidell Salt Fork, was the discus state champion last year and her mindset was to repeat as champion. Birge tossed 104’ 1” and later told Clark that she was the best thrower she had competed against all season. No other discus thrower touched 100’ on Friday at State. These two were fun to watch.

Prior to the discus throw, the shot put event took place early in the day and it was full of suspense. Here Clark was not having her best day early on in the heat but she turned it on by the end of the competition. She never gave up and with family, friends and coaches cheering her on she got the job done. Heading into her final throw she needed a good toss and she got it. She threw 33’7.5” and broke her own personal record of 32’ 11”, which she also achieved last weekend at Sectionals.

Clark receives her 1st place medal for the shot put.

The Clark cheering section went nuts upon realizing she was in the lead in her last throw of the finals. But the girl now in second place behind Clark had one more throw. And that girl, Cassidy Miller from Annawan, had tossed 33’ 5.25” on her previous throw. Oh the drama. Obviously the ending has already been given away and it was Cassidy Miller who stood on the no. 2 spot on the podium as Cassidy Clark stood in the highest position of all ~ no. 1. A state champion ~ Cassidy Clark.

A Clark family picture in celebration of the wins.

But let’s hear how things truly went down from Cassidy Clark’s dad, Gale, who explains the dramatic shot put finish calmly, in great detail. “You get five throws each. The top eight throws from the preliminaries get two additional throws in the finals,” he says matter-of-factly. “So she made that. She was in 6th position and going into her final throw she was still in sixth position. There was no one in the finals that had advanced at all from their previous positions but she had one throw left. And she just popped it out there.

"She had a very good technical throw. Best of the day. We kinda new if somebody could get one out there around 34’ it was probably gonna win. It left her hand, it hit the ground, before they even got the measuring equipment out, truth be told, I was going crazy,” said the ever-so-cool, calm and collected MPHS social studies teacher.

“I was yelling, my brother was yelling, we erupted even before they got the measuring equipment out. Then I said, “That’s a 34’ throw.” Then they went to measure it and they manually started putting the numbers on the board. I saw the three go out for over 30’ and then they put another three next to it and I thought, “Oh my gosh, is that not going to be a 34’ throw?!” It’s not,” said Clark, shocked.

“The leader had 33’5” at that point and then they put up the seven on the other side of the 33’ and we knew she had done it. There was one throw left. The leader had one throw left and she went and threw 32’ I think. So that 33’7” got it done on the very, very last throw.”

What a fitting end to the way Cassidy Clark just likes to save the best for last.

Clark’s personal coach, Lia Tulua of Arete Throws Nation, has worked with Clark the past year and with her teaching and coaching she has helped to build the young girl into the champion she is today.

At the end of they day, Tulua was pleased with the results. “Cassidy had a really good state meet. Winning shot put, I knew she had the capabilities, I just wasn’t sure if she realized it. Winning shot put was great. As far as discus, I’m still happy with how she placed. She placed second, as opposed to last year, where she struggled through the state meet. The overall year and season, I am proud of what she accomplished and what she threw. It’ll be great to see her going into the summer and into high school, the preparation for that. Because last year was a lot of preparation and this year has been just the same amount but possibly even more.”

As far as Clark ending her junior high career on a personal high of 33’ 7” in the shot put, Coach Tulua says, “That’s a good start to get her on track for her freshman year in high school so we’ll see that every year there should be like three to six feet more in terms of how she improves on this system with Arete Throws Nation. I’m actually transitioning her out of glide and into rotational this summer so that throughout her high school career she’s on track with the new technique.”

Clark will also be attending a camp July 11-12 in Downers Grove put on by Arete Throws Nation to learn rotational shot put technique. Tulua explained the meaning behind the name Arete Throws Nation. “Arete is Greek for “realizing potential,” said Tulua. “Erik Johnson, the founder, wanted something that would stick out with his throwers and with his clientele and he chose a Greek word obviously because that’s where the throws began and that’s where the Olympics began. He gives the history to the new throwers and the new clients and that’s what Arete means ~ realizing your potential. She’s definitely realizing her potential, yet it’s just a matter of I don’t think she realizes that by her senior year she’ll be right where Peyton Taylor is.”

Coach Tulua has also worked hard along with Taylor to get him to achieve his level of success. Taylor, a senior at MPHS who is going to SIU on a track and field scholarship, was on hand yesterday at State to cheer Clark on.

Clark is somewhat of a petite build for a shot-putter and here she is a state champion. Tulua intends to see Clark build more muscle beginning this summer but yet credits the young athlete’s technique as a reason for her success. “That’s definitely what captures people’s attention when they see her throw and that’s how you know it’s all technique. It’s not all athleticism. It’s not all natural ability and strength. It’s a lot of technique in Cassidy and Peyton. They are quintessential examples of it’s all technique. Because with Peyton being 6’8” people think that he is just a basketball player and it’s like, no, he’s really athletic. It was just a matter of getting him on this system and getting Cassidy on this system. They are both very athletic but they also have locked in on the technique with both discus and shot, and so this season the difference between now and when we get to this part of the season next year, she’s going to have a lot more muscle mass on her and she’s going to have a lot more coordination and rhythm pick up through this summer so it’ll be interesting to see with that extra muscle mass and that extra stuff that’s going on with her this summer that we have planned for her, that she’ll see a huge improvement.”

Now would be as good a time as any to remind people that Clark just picked up the shot put and discus for the first time last March 2017. At last season’s end her personal bests were 83’ in the discus and 25’ in the shot put. Major improvements to this season. With a little over a year of training and a lot of hard work and determination, she now has two impressive state medals dangling around her neck. Not bad for starters.

Congratulations to the newest State Champion of MPGS - Cassidy Clark!

Cassidy Clark stands tall as the IESA Class A Shot Put State Champion. Cassidy Miller is the 2nd place winner and Hallica Warren-Anderson is the third place winner.

The top eight in the state in shot put competition.

The top three discus throwers in Class A competition: Olivia Birge, Cassidy Clark and Kjersten Friestad.

Clark settles for the no. 2 spot. Olivia Birge of Sidell Salt Fork is a two-time state champion now in the discus.

[Teena Lowery]