Staff Reports
The Tonawanda News
— St. Joe's junior Dominik Kosar shattered a 27-year-old school record and sailed away from the rest of the field Saturday, capturing a state discus crown at the New York State Track and Field Championships at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.
Kosar, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound native of the Czech Republic, won the Federation title with a throw of 177 feet, 7 inches, bettering his personal best throw of 170 feet, 4 inches earlier this season.
The throw also reset the St. Joe's record books, breaking Rob Luparello's 1985 mark of 172 feet, 9 inches.
"He showed up last summer and we knew he could throw, but he couldn't speak English," St. Joe's coach Matt Hellerer said. "He's worked hard in his throwing, but very hard in learning English and worked hard in school. Obviously it was great to go down and win."
Kosar's throw also dominated the field on Saturday, besting second-placed Noah White of Jericho (167-9) by nearly 10 feet. Third-place finisher Ryan Hunter of Canisius finished with a throw of 158-11.
Hellerer said Kosar went right from the shot put finals to the discus and was still able to manage a winning throw.
"He was a little discouraged he didn't throw his best, but he shook that off and marched right off to the discus and cleared his head and set the school record and won the Federation," Hellerer said.
Meanwhile, Kenmore West three-sport athlete Marcus Lobdell's career as a Blue Devil came to an end with a fourth-place finish in the pentathlon championship.
Lobdell, the 2011Tonawanda News boys track Player of the Year, came up short of a state title in his final try by 109 points. He finished with a score of 2,140. Last year, Lobdell finished as the state runner-up.
At the Section VI championships, Lobdell ran away with the title with 3,419 points, nearly 200 points ahead of the runner-up.
