Sanborn Central/Woonsocket's Elizabeth Boschee wins inaugural Class A girls javelin title
May 24—SIOUX FALLS — In the premiere year of girls javelin at the Class A state championships, the top prize went to a first-time javelin thrower.
Sanborn Central/Woonsocket's Elizabeth Boschee, who first picked up the javelin midway through the spring track season, threw it 126 feet and 2 inches through the air to win the event on Friday afternoon at Howard Wood Field.
The throw, which came on her third attempt, was nearly 8 feet further than her previous personal best, and over 11 feet further than any of her other attempts on the day.
But it was all she needed to win it all.
"I kind of just went out there, my coach told me to time it, so I did that, and then I chucked it and felt really good right when I released it, and it was pretty good," she said.
The victory is a puncuation mark on what's been a fast ascension in the event for Boschee. In the first year of sanctioned javelin, she said she waited several weeks to throw becasue her coaches didn't let her. Once they obliged, she had immediate success.
"The first week we did it, I threw like a 110 and then it just kept going up from there. I found the thing that I'm good at," Boschee said.
As the season progressed, she improved her footwork and increased her reps, and reached a personal best of 118-10 at the Ethan/Parkston meet on May 9. That was, until Friday.
The whole ordeal, from her fast start, to her amazing state-winning throw, has been unexpected.
"I did surprise myself," Boschee said. "My form was very bad at the beginning, but I fixed it up and it helped a lot."
Following Boschee on the podium was Elk Point-Jefferson's Bentlee Kollbaum in second (121-00) and Lennox's Dan Highum in third (117-11). Belle Fourche's Sloan Young nabbed a fourth-place finish (115-07) and Tri-Valley's Lauren Grinde was sixth (115-00).
Boschee's success at the state meet isn't contained to the javelin. She scored 1.5 points for her team by placing sixth in the high jump (5-0) and ran the 110-meter hurdles (16.21) and 300-meter hurdles (50.32).
And after etching herself as the first champion in the history of Class A javelin, she's already ready for more.
"It's pretty cool," Boschee said. "I hope to come back next year and break my mark again."
