LAKEWOOD | Not every one of Jarrius Ward’s throws during Thursday’s Class 5A boys discus competition were perfect — including a couple that hit trees and nearly ended up in parking lot adjacent to Jefferson County Stadium — but one was.
The Overland junior’s third attempt of his preliminary flight exploded out of his hand and caused quite a stir where it landed. When the officials marked the distance of 203 feet, 4 inches, a murmur went through onlookers and a short time later, they learned they had just witnessed a throw the meet hadn’t seen in more than four decades.
Ward’s throw shattered the previous 5A state meet record of 192-5, which had been recorded by Westminster’s Todd Austin back in 1977, while it fell short of the all-classification Colorado record of former Buena Vista star Mason Finley, who threw 214-1 in 2009.
With the win, Ward erased the disappointment of a second-place finish last season to Chatfield’s Charles Lafore — his club teammate — who also bettered Austin’s mark. Lafore turned in a top throw of 193-6 that put him second.
Ward’s record-setting throw was a long way from the 185-8 that was his season best and brought him into state more than four feet behind Lafore in seeding.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
