DES MOINES — Perry senior Taylor Lathrum said before the state meet that her goal was to “throw 36 (feet) and then see where I finish” in the Class 3A shot put.
Lathrum did not reach the 36 foot mark, but her push of 32 feet, six inches was enough to lift her from the 24th spot to 22nd. Her best throw was her first, as Lathrum’s second throw landed at 30’11-3/4 while she fouled on her final effort.
Lathrum was coached by Emi Einck, who was fifth for Perry in the discus in 2006, the last time a Perry girl qualified for state in a throwing event until today.
The Bluejay 4×400 unit of Reece Dunlap, Alexis Garrido, Jose Castellanos and Adan Medina entered as the No. 13 seed and left 13th after shaving .4 seconds off their qualifying time by finishing in 3 minutes, 28.71 seconds.
Castellanos is a senior while Medina, who competed Thursday in the 400 dash, is a junior. Dunlap, who ran the 100 and 200 Thursday, is a sophomore, as is Garrido.
The Bluejays are coached by Ben Coy, with Matt Hardy the girls head coach.
