Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Ursuline sophomore Connor Crilley tosses the shot during the Division III boys shot put finals at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. He earned bronze with a mark of 58-00.25 feet, while also being the state runner-up in the discus at 173-00 feet. 

COLUMBUS — Weightlifting and throwing is what Connor Crilley just basks in. After previously making the state meet in junior high, he envisioned what the high school meet had in store.

As a sophomore, he now has some hardware to take back to Ursuline. Crilley earned the state runner-up in the Division III boys discus on day two with a new personal-best of 173 feet, before taking bronze during the shot put on day three, also tossing a new personal-best of 58-00.25 feet.

“Coming in (seeded) 8th in the disc, it’s a rough mental thing, but I came out, I worked hard, and I (hit my personal best) by four feet to take second. You got to have a big throw early to put pressure on the other guys up top because pressure is either going to fold you or make you better,” Crilley said. “I was really looking forward to (the shot put) and our plan going in was to go after it first throw, really try to set the bar high and have other guys chase it and put some pressure on the rest of the field.”

“On my last throw, I got a clap going, I knew I was going to finish third behind the two guys in front of me, so I was happy with that, but I really went after the last one, had fun with it and (hit my personal best) again and got into the 58s.”

Brett Beury of Firelands took the discus title with a mark of 188-08 feet. Springfield Northwestern’s Crew Estep earned shot put gold at 59-00.50.

Firing off new personal best marks in both of his events was a fact that Crilley is proud of.

“I definitely knew I could do it in the discus when it was clicking at districts, then I had a rough regionals, but once I came back and had that confidence with a good week of practice and thanked my coach Steven Lyons and my parents for supporting me and helping me get through it,” Crilley said. “You have ups and downs, luckily it was an up at the right time.”

In eighth grade, Crilley qualified for shot, admitting that last year the discus was his favorite event. With another season come and gone, he fully realizes that shot put is where his real love is at.

“Now that I’ve gotten from the last six months with my coach, I’ve really taken a liking for shot. Anyone can throw the discus, but it takes a big person to throw a shot put and I think it’s a good highlight in the sport of track and field where you don’t find many big people.” Crilley added.

Crilley’s grandfather convinced him to take up throwing while his aunt was a high jumper in high school herself. In his first ever meet back in seventh grade, Crilley placed first and knew that he was onto a sport that he would enjoy.

When he’s not throwing, he’s suited up as an offensive tackle on the gridiron. He feels that track and football go hand in hand.

“I’d say it’s the mental aspect of it all. You really have to come in knowing that I have to dominate. It’s me versus them and either I’m going to eat or they’re going to eat. Track is not like football where you can stop someone else from having a good day, you really have to have a good day yourself and have a better day than the other guys,” Crilley added. “It’s really a surreal experience, there’s so many people in the crowd right now, it’s really a blessing. Obviously I have to give glory to God, without him I wouldn’t be here.”