Hanson's Brock Tuttle surprises himself in surge up discus leaderboards
May 8—ALEXANDRIA, S.D. — Brock Tuttle came into this spring with a feeling he could compete for a state title in the shot put. Discus, on the other hand, was something of an afterthought.
But in the wake of yet another strong showing this spring, this time against many of the state and region's best at the Dakota Relays, Hanson's standout senior looks poised to challenge for the top spot on the Class A podium in both events.
"I'm pretty happy with how I'm doing, especially considering last year I wasn't near the point I am now," Tuttle said. "I still have a couple of milestones I'd like to hit, but so far, so good."
Tuttle's ascent up the leaderboards began in earnest at last season's track and field championships. There, he finished fourth in Class A for both the shot put and discus, smashing his personal bests in the process. Tuttle's shot put mark of 52 feet, 5 inches, was 22 inches better than his previous best, and a heave of 148 feet, 2 inches, in the discus was a personal record by more than 11 feet.
Those marks placed Tuttle No. 10 in the shot put and No. 23 in the discus on the all-class year-end leaderboard. This spring, Tuttle picked up right where the breakout performance left off, flying up the charts in both events.
Both of Tuttle's most recent personal-record performances to date came last week at the Dakota Relays, where he reached 53 feet, 3.75 inches, in the shot put and 163 feet, 9 inches, in the discus — the fourth time he's set a new best in the event this season, shattering his prior best by 5 feet.
Ranked second in Class A in both, Tuttle has climbed to No. 4 across all classes in South Dakota in the discus and No. 7 in the shot put so far this season.
"I thought maybe I'd have a chance to get up there in shot put, but I did not see this coming with discus," Tuttle said.
Tuttle credits his success to continuing improvement in the weight room and dedicating time to throwing during track and field's offseason, even while focusing on other sports such as football, where he's a three-time all-state selection (two at fullback and one at linebacker) and wrestling.
But Tuttle's track and field career won't end later this month in Sioux Falls, as he's committed to continue with football and track and field collegiately at Dakota State.
In the meantime, Tuttle hopes to reach 55 feet for the state championships in shot put. In the discus, Tuttle has already soared so far beyond his own expectations coming into the year that he considers any extra distance he adds over the next three weeks a bonus.
"There's a little bit of pressure. I've got friends making jokes about school records and stuff, but for the most part, I just try to go out there, throw and have fun," Tuttle said. "There are times when I get frustrated if things aren't going well, but this is my last high school sport, so I'm trying to keep it fun and enjoy the last little bit of my high school career."
