Photo by Phil Grove
Jordan Geist was named the Pennsylvania Gatorade Boys' Track & Field Athlete of the Year, Friday morning.
Geist had a monster 2016 that saw him capture three state titles in the throws and break a pair of state records. The Knoch junior broke Ryan Whiting's indoor state record in the shot put early in the winter season at Slippery Rock. His season best in the shot was a PA state record of 72-9.5, which he threw at the TSTCA Championships. He then went on to win the indoor state championship at Penn State and finally a New Balance Nationals Indoor championship in the shot.
In his first outdoor meet of the season, Geist broke Ron Semkiw's 44-year-old state record in the shot put with a throw of 71-9.25. Geist then won his second straight Penn Relays shot put title, furthering that record. At the PIAA State Championships, Geist wasted no time, throwing 74-3.5 on his first throw to set the state meet record. The next day, Geist also won the AAA discus at states. His best throw in the shot put came at the Ironwood Throwers Classic where he threw 74-4.5. Geist was second in the shot put at New Balance Nationals Outdoor and third in the discus with a personal best throw of 197-11.
