In the music business, one-hit wonders dot the landscape - performers who burst onto the national scene and then are unable to reach the same level of success again.
A week after her massive PR and national record, javelin phenom Madison Wiltrout was determined not to let the bar she had just set so high slip back down. On Thursday in the WPIAL championships at Baldwin, she succeeded, peppering the turf with five throws longer than her old lifetime best from less than a month ago.
“I didn't want to be one of those people that shot like a 185 out and then went back down," the Connellsville Area sophomore declared. “I definitely wanted to get up there again today."
In the opening round of the Class AAA event, Wiltrout rifled the 600-gram javelin out 171 feet, 1 inch to the delight of a sizable crowd that was drawn to the event to catch a glimpse of history's best prep thrower. The crowd reaction increased minutes later as she registered the third-longest throw all time, a 181-0 heave that is just 2 inches shy of the old HSR by Oregon's Haley Crouser in 2012.
“Just more technique work, that's what we're sticking to," javelin coach Mike Coleman said of the key to Wiltrout breaking the national record on May 7 by more than 4 feet and besting her old PR by 17 feet. “She has the power, she has the strength. We're sticking with technique, trying to perfect it to give her that chance to see what her body can actually do until we start adding more arm power and more speed.
“Right now, it's all technique. If she keeps it up and does exactly what she knows how to do - keep her arm up, keep her hips turned, plant hard, make everything quick - she is going to stay consistent in the 170s and 180s without a problem."
Her final toss in qualifying fell just shy of the 170s (169-0), but Wiltrout was back adding her name atop the all-time top 10 list with a pair of strong throws in the finals. With her next two attempts traveling 175-10 and 175-5, Wiltrout now owns two of the three longest throws and four of the top 13, with her set of four coming in the past two meets.
“I was actually quite shocked," Coleman said of the HSR throw of 185-8 at last week's AAA qualifier at Norwin that is for now at the peak of the javelin mountain. “I was not ready for it at all. I was expecting 170, 175 max. I figured she would have a nice easy day (at Norwin), keep yourself calm and not get too worked up since it was real hot.
“And when she launched that first one, everything she did she was on. Everything was on point. She just crushed it right off the bat."
Her private coach noted that competing on an all-weather runway at Shippensburg is something that Wiltrout favors and is conducive to even longer throws.
“We practice a good bit on both," Coleman said of grass and synthetic approaches. “She throws a lot more on grass than she does on runway. Her plants on runway are 10 times better than they are on grass. She is nervous to slip in the grass. On the runway, she is not nervous to slip so she hits (her plants) harder and hits them faster."
With her victory by more than 42 feet, Wiltrout has her ticket to Shippensburg and the opportunity to improve on last year's state championship throw of 151-1. This year, her biggest competitor likely will be herself.
“I have a lot of high school competitors, but I look ahead of high school to college and then the Olympics," she said of her motivation. “I love that competition because I know that I can get better as I get older and progress. I'm looking as best as you can get.
“I wouldn't think I would be anywhere where I am right now. It's not surprising to me because I know how I push myself, and I'm honestly blessed as an athlete. I tried it, and I'm here now. It's pretty crazy for me."
Another sophomore who has taken an event by storm this season is Jordan Geist. Fresh off a huge PR of 69-1 at the Baldwin Invitational, the Knoch standout looked to thrill another large crowd that gathered around a sector that had an extra cushion of safety added because of his lengthy throws.
The right-hander wasn't able to extend his career best for the fourth consecutive big meet, but he registered another winner in excess of 65 feet, a distance only four others nationwide have reached thus far in 2015.
“I did feel like I had a little bit more room to improve, but unfortunately I wasn't able to PR today," Geist said. “It just pretty much broke down completely today. Technically, it was awful."
Geist opened with a heave of 64-11.5 before fouling in round 2. His winning throw of 65-0.75 wrapped up prelims and preceded a trio of fouls in the finals as each attempt was about 65 to 67 feet.
After the long walk to the other end of the Baldwin track complex, Geist picked up a PR in the discus, extending his lifetime best to a PA#2 177-6.
“Definitely, the later in the season we go, the better that I'm getting because I am getting more reps," Geist said of the increased work with the platter as the outdoor season continues. “Hopefully I can just keep one in next week."
Geist will be looking to complete his indoor-outdoor state title run in 2015, as will North Allegheny's Matt McGoey. The senior warmed up for next Saturday's Class AAA 3,200 meters with the fastest metric two-miler by a Keystone distance runner this year and one of the best ever in PA.
Running alone for basically the final six laps, McGoey continued to put distance on the field. His final lap of 63 seconds brought him home in 8:56.43, taking the state lead and erasing a venerable NA school record of 9:03.87 set in 2010 by Ryan Gil in running second in the AAA state final.
“I came through in like a 7:50 some, and I'm like alright I just got to close in a little faster than what I've been going and I got it," the Pitt recruit said of breaking 9 minutes. “I was just pushin'."
North Allegheny coach John Neff said that McGoey's amazing kick to win the indoor 3,000 title at Penn State and long drive to the finish on Thursday are as different as they might be alike.
“Indoor at states, he had a great race going, but he really just snatched it there right at the end," Neff said. “Tonight, it was with purpose, and he was going after it the whole time. Setting a goal … he said he wanted to come through (1,600) in 4:28, (and he) came through in 4:28.
“Said he wanted to run under 9:00 and ran under 9:00. He was a machine tonight. He just did exactly what he wanted to do."
One thing that McGoey hadn't planned to do Thursday was contribute a leg on the Tigers' 4x800 relay. A number of personnel conflicts resulted in the senior taking the baton for the third leg of a third-place, state-qualifying 7:58.75.
“I was a little worried about it when Coach (Neff) said I had to run it because I thought it might tire me out," the senior said. “I just made sure I cooled down after, stretched, took a little rest and then I was ready."
Also checking in with a state-leading time was Mt. Lebanon's 4x800 relay team of Sadie Saxton, Leah Graf, Kelsey Potts and Claire Dougherty. The foursome picked up school and WPIAL records en route to a 9:13.22 clocking and a 16-second gap over their pursuers.
“They're coming together, they just keep running faster and their times keep coming down each week," coach Oscar Shutt said of their performance, which is now PA#4 heading to Shippensburg. “All four of them hit a PR today. We set a target of beating our school record, which was 9:17, and going from there to see if we could get close to the WPIAL record and they ran right past that. That was really exciting. They had a super, super day."
Another standout performance was turned in Central Catholic's Jeff Van Kooten. Third a year ago in the AAA 1,600 state final, Van Kooten assumed the lead in the district title race at the midpoint and kept Seneca Valley's Mike Kolor at bay the rest of the way.
Van Kooten's PR run of 4:10.72 is PA#1 and a big drop from his 4:14.05 in the 2014 state race, while Kolor is now No. 2 in Pennsylvania with his lifetime best of 4:11.21. The rest of the field was 10 seconds back.