Anderson places 17th in state meet

Ramona High School junior Connor Anderson threw the discus 158 feet 9 inches at the state track and field meet at Buchanan High School in Clovis.

The throw, which was his only valid distance, earned him 17th place in the preliminaries on June 5. The throwers with the top 12 distances advanced to the finals the next day.

“He had a pretty good attitude afterwards. He was happy to make it there,” said head track and field coach Sherri Edwards.

The athletes with the top three times or distances in each event at the CIF San Diego Section finals May 30 qualified for the state meet. Anderson had a discus throw of 161-10, placing behind only Oceanside junior Charles Lenford.

Lenford won the Valley League meet with Anderson placing second. At the league meet on May 15, Anderson landed a discus 170-10 beyond the throwing circle.

The 12th-place mark at the state preliminaries was 167-9.

“He’s capable of throwing far enough to get to the finals,” Edwards said.

The 158-9 distance was from Anderson’s first throw. On his second and third throws he fouled because his hand was outside the throwing circle.

“He kind of lost control,” Edwards said. “He was throwing hard his second and third throws, but he fouled.”

The state meet was the first for Anderson.

“He wasn’t disappointed,” Edwards said. “He knows what he needs to do for next year and he was very happy to be able to make it there, so it was a good experience for him.”

Anderson attended throwing classes in the Los Angeles area last summer.

“He did a lot to help himself improve throughout the season,” Edwards said. “He worked really hard the whole season.”