Prebola Throws US No. 1 In Javelin Series For The Ages


Matthew Prebola was locked in on Tuesday.

The Tunkhannock javelin thrower brought his best to the rare turf runway at North Pocono Middle School in Moscow for the PIAA District 2 AAA Championships, uncorking six throws that were all better than his previous best entering the day.

Prebola's best toss came on his third attempt, landing with a mark of 222 feet, 2 inches, which currently sits at US No. 1 on the season and the seventh best throw in Pennsylvania state history.

But the junior was feeling it right from the start of the event, moving up from US No. 2 in the national lead after his first attempt, which came in at 213-10.  

"I felt good going into it," Prebola said. "On the first throw, I just wanted to keep it low -- that was my whole plan going into it. My whole series just felt good."

Video of Prebola's 222-2 mark on his third attempt

He got better from there, going all the way out to 221-6 on his second attempt, and then he popped his best of 222-2 on No. 3. But Prebola didn't think that one was going to be his best of the day

"When that left my hand, I actually didn't think that was my farthest one, so I just surprised myself with that one," he said.

In the finals, Prebola put down marks of 214-0, 218-5, and then another 218-5. Each of the tosses in the series were better than Prebola's previous PR, which stood at 210-0 from the 12th Rock Throws Invitational a few weeks ago. All six throws were also better than the previous US No. 1, which was 211-0 from Missouri's Bryce Kazmaier.

Next up comes the PIAA State Championships at Shippensburg in a week a half, trading in the turf for an all-weather runway. The field is stacked with US No. 7 Collin Burkhart and US No. 10 Tristian Schmidt expected to make things interesting.

"I'm gonna focus on the same things I was today, not gonna change too much," he said of his preparations for states. "I know there's great competition next week. I'm really looking forward to it."