Central's Ethan Thomas wins state shot put with third-longest toss in state history
May 24—BISMARCK — The shot put didn't start great for Grand Forks Central's Ethan Thomas on Friday at the North Dakota state track and field meet.
The senior, who won the discus state title on Thursday, threw a foul on his first attempt.
The poor start, though, was overshadowed by a massive finish.
Thomas won the state title in the shot put with a throw of 63 feet, 11 inches, a mark just two inches off the all-time record of 64-1 by Bismarck High's Howard Hausauer.
Hausauer's 1987 record is the state's oldest boys record.
"When you (throw a foul) when you're the favorite going in and have just three throws to make the finals, the pressure is more," Grand Forks shot put coach Matt Fischer said. "The second throw, it didn't faze him. He had a nice easy 59 feet, which is weird to say because 59 feet isn't easy. That put him and us at ease. That allowed him to open up and get after it."
On Friday, meet officials had marked off lines for 60 feet and 65 feet in the shot put with Kindred's Riley Sunram pushing those lengths.
But by the time the Class A schools hit the field on a wet Friday, those long markers were gone.
"Truly, we all thought he had the record," Fischer said.
Instead, Thomas' throw was a Bismarck Community Bowl facility record and the third-longest throw in the history of the state in shot put (both Class A and Class B).
The all-time list includes throws not achieved at the state meet. A state record has to take place at the state meet.
The farthest shot at any point in a season was Hausauer at 67 feet, 11 inches. The second-best throw came this year from Sunram at 64-1. Thomas is third, ahead of state legend Jim Kleinsasser of Carrington, who had a 62-2 in 1995.
Thomas' 63-11 easily beat the field on Friday. Jack Shaffer of Bismarck High was runner-up at 56-2.5.
"Looking back at the year, on Day 1, we had an indoor meet at UND and (Thomas) threw the shot," Fischer said. "I told him congratulations on winning the meet. I asked him if he knew he had never won a meet in his career. He looked at me weird and said, 'really?' ... but all he has done this year is win. I'm very proud of him, and it couldn't happen to a better kid. I'm super proud of him and excited for him as he continues his career."
Thomas has the chance now to do something Grand Forks throws coaches believe hasn't happened since before 1920.
The coaches believe 1915 is the last time a North Dakota boys athlete swept all three throwing events at the state meet.
Thomas will be one of the favorites during Saturday's javelin event. Throwing for the javelin begins at 12:15 p.m.
"As a throws crew, we celebrate and then we buckle up," Fischer said. "He's not done yet."
Thanks to Thomas' big meet, Grand Forks Central sits in fourth in the team scoring with 20 points. Bismarck leads the way with 86.
Other top eight boys finishes from Grand Forks on Friday include Red River's Elijah Dafoe finishing sixth in the 1,600 and Red River's 4x800 relay taking fourth.
On the girls' side, Red River's Morgan Hartze finished seventh in the 1,600, the Red River girls were second in the 4x800 and Sophie Brakke of Red River was third in the long jump.
