With track and field, our attention often turns to the track events. Whether for a 55m sprint or a 110m hurdle, crowds almost always gather around the running track, cheering on the runners and hurdlers. Yet leaping over a seven-foot bar in pole vault, throwing over 97 feet in discus, and jumping over 40 feet in triple jump rarely get much attention.. Let’s now dive into the seven field events at Great Neck South—long jump, shot put, discus, weight throw, pole vault, high jump, and triple jump—and hear about the goals and challenges from respective athletes.

Shot Put

Shot put is an upper-body sport where the goal is to throw a spherical weight from the athlete’s shoulder as far as possible. In high school, male competitors use a 12-pound ball, and the females use an eight-pound ball. The material of the shot put varies depending on the athletic season. During winter, the contenders throw an indoor put, a plastic ball filled with sand; during spring, the athletes throw an outdoor put, a solid metal ball.

After a foot injury during his first track and field season, junior Sam Fisk decided to try shot put: “I switched to shot put because there is less running but more lifting and techniques.” Despite the competitive nature of the sport, Fisk claims, “I don’t feel a huge amount of stress because a lot of the throwers are friends. We all go to [St Anthony’s High School for] every meet of the winter season.” After committing five seasons to shot put, Fisk’s goal this season is to hit his personal record—the 35 foot mark.

Discus

Discus is a spring season field event that involves holding a circular plate while rotating in a 2.5-meter diameter circle, then releasing it as far as possible. High school female discus throwers use a two pound disc, whereas the males use a 3.5-pound disc. The key for a successful throw requires four components—form, strength, speed, and mindset.

Senior Olivia Lei at first was challenged by the difficulty of discus throwing, as she would often hold the discus in an incorrect form and drop it while attempting to throw. However, through throwing drills, weightlifting, and sprints, Lei began to get the hang of it. “It was challenging at first, but if you hand me a discus now, I will hold it correctly without thinking,” she said. Lei’s goal this year is to qualify for the State Qualifiers as this is her last year on the team. Although she failed to achieve her goal last year of 95-97 feet, she strives to stay focused in the present. “I will always keep Coach Hudson Georges’ quote in mind: ‘If you keep going, you aren’t failing.’”

Weight Throw

Similar to shot put, weight throw requires intense upper body strength, as the goal of the sport is to throw a ball as far as possible. The difference, however, is the object being thrown. Instead of throwing a circular ball, weight throwers use a handle that is attached by a chain to a sphere. Senior William Ouyang is ranked first in the Conference for weight throwing. “I tried some weight
throw over the summer and liked it, so I decided to practice it more frequently,” he said.

Although this winter season is his first season competing in weight throw, Ouyang’s prior experience in shot put and discus helps him succeed. Ouyang trains for his upcoming meets through a variety of exercises, often targeting the explosiveness of the sport. As for the goal for his last winter season: “Get All-American at Nike/New Balance National.”

Long Jump

In long jump, the goal is to achieve the greatest horizontal distance in a single leap. Just like high jump, athletes start with a sprint to prepare themselves for the jump; but unlike the high jumpers, the goal for long jumpers is to jump into a sandpit with great distance rather than height. There are multiple attempts, and the best valid jump is recorded for scoring.

Despite only being a sophomore, long jumper Justin Cruz qualified twice for county and came third in divisional. However, Cruz’s start with long jump was a casual one. “In middle school we needed people for the sport so I volunteered myself,” he said. His goal this season is to be a team player and perform his best. “The most challenging aspect is not seeing the results. A bad performance can really get in your head for the next meet. On the other hand, I love to see the hard work I put in at practice pay off,” he said.

Pole Vault

Senior Maggie Wu sprints toward a seven-feet-tall horizontal bar with a pole in her hands, plants the pole into the ground, uses the flexibility of the pole to propel herself into the air—arching her back perfectly to avoid touching the bar—and lands on her back, onto the mat. Wu’s fascination with pole vault started long before competing. “I always thought it was the coolest event since people were literally flying in the air,” she said. With the encouragement of teammate senior Abby Varughese, a prior competitor in pole vault, and Emily Chadwick, the athletic trainer of Great Neck South, Wu decided to give pole vault a try.

After placing second at counties in her junior year, her goal this season was to clear nine feet and beat the Great Neck South’s school record. Unfortunately, Wu tore her ACL and will not be able to improve upon her current record of seven feet due to the rehabilitation process. From taking a leap of faith into the sky to the free-fall after, “The adrenaline rush throughout the process is what makes the sport so great,” said Wu.

High Jump

High jump is a field event where the goal is to jump over a horizontal bar placed at a certain height. Athletes sprint towards the bar and propel themselves into the air with one foot, avoiding the bar at all costs. As the height of the bar increases, the jump becomes more difficult. During a meet, the height of the bar will increase steadily—whoever fails to clear a bar at a given height will be eliminated from the competition. Athletes usually get three attempts at each height, drawing Junior Calvin Chang to the event. “I lost interest in the 100 [meter race] because I didn’t like how one tiny mistake could ruin your race. [As well as] long jump, I didn’t like how precise you had to be to get a legal jump and wanted to do something else,” Chang said. As a freshman, Chang set a new GNS high jump school record at 6’1″. Unfortunately, Chang has been battling a knee injury ever since the 2022 spring county championships. “It’s frustrating seeing competitors. I used to beat now jumping 6 ‘4 and going to nationals while I have been stuck at 5’ 8 for the last two years because of the injury,” he said. Calvin’s goal this year is to maintain his jump for his senior year.

Triple Jump

Triple jump challenges athletes to jump three consecutive times—hop, step, and jump—for the longest distance. The hop requires athletes to take off with one foot. This is then followed by a step, where athletes land on the opposite foot. Finally, the athletes jump into a sandpit with both legs extended. Similar to high jump, there are three attempts given to the competitors in a meet for achieving their longest distance. Ranked first in Great Neck South for triple jump, Ariz Merchant has been obsessed with jumping his whole life. “I would just randomly jump over objects on the streets,” he said. When asked about what he loves about the sport, Merchant said, “I love that after the first hop, you have to overcome the pounds of pressure and use it as your momentum to push off the floor again into the step and the jump.” On December 12, 2023, Merchant achieved a personal record of 37’0.5, at St. Anthony’s High School: “My goal this year is to use the technique to the best of my ability because jumping comes naturally to me.”