BOYS TRACK: Gilbert back to defend his discus title

By Pedro Valazco
Kokomo Tribune June 02, 2018

Western's Tyler Gilbert went to state the first time as a sophomore, taking 12th in the discus. It gave him an idea of where he wanted to get in the event.

Last year he surged past the competition to win the state title.

Now as a senior he's back to defend his discus title, seeded first and perched atop the heap waiting for challengers to come to him.

"I don't think he has any pressure on him at all," Western coach Gary Jewell said. "Of course, it's hard to tell if he does or not."

Gilbert doesn't give a lot away with expressions or nervous habits. Yes he feels the gravity of the occasion, but is confident in his preparation.

"There's a little bit of pressure, but I'm not nervous about it," Gilbert said. "I know there's guys that are up there with me so there's some pressure to get better. I know I need to throw well down there. I'm looking forward to the competition. I think it'll be fun."

The IHSAA Boys Track and Field State Finals are today at Indiana University's Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex. Joining the Western senior at state are Kokomo junior sprinter Steven Edwards, Kokomo sophomore hurdler Quincy Armstrong and Northwestern sophomore long jumper Tayson Parker. Armstrong, Edwards and Parker are making their first trips to state, with Edwards and Parker enjoying success in their first seasons of track.

Gilbert is seeded first today at state after his effort of 177 feet, 10 inches was the best result of any regional winner. Seeded second is Merrillville's Brett Norton at 174-3. Today's state meet kicks off at 3 p.m. with discus, pole vault and long jump opening the action.

As a sophomore, Gilbert took 12th with a throw of 154-0. A year later, he was the state champion at 173-10. That first trip to state made the second one a lot more productive.

"I think seeing what the guys threw there and seeing how much they could throw inspired me to want to get better," Gilbert said. "And I think the atmosphere of all those good throwers got me more used to the competition.

"I improved a lot. I met some new coaches that helped me a lot, but just getting the experience of getting all the way to state helped a lot too."

He reached his goal as a junior. Now the goal is to keep pushing the envelope. On May 17, Gilbert unleashed a throw of 185-9 to win the Kokomo Sectional, setting a new personal record, Western record, sectional record and area record.

"I'd like to obviously defend [my title] but I'd like to throw it in the high 80s, try to hit 190. That's a big goal of mine," Gilbert said.

To that end, the discus technician has been refining and refining his motion. He spent a lot of time throwing indoors in the winter, having a coach record him so they could look at his motion and work to improve it.

He'd also send videos to private coaches for feedback. There are a lot of components. He's worked on them enough to make them second nature, so that as he trains, he can concentrate on one aspect, or a few aspects that he needs to smooth out.

"There's so much, it's impossible to think of everything before you do it," Gilbert said. "I try to focus on one thing I'm having a problem at and focus on that. And mostly I think about increasing the speed at the end."

It's a work in progress, but as of right now, the product is working very well.

"If you saw him last year and you saw him this year, he's a lot smoother than he was," Jewell said. "He was saying before regional there were some things he was working on that he needed to correct in terms of basically foot placement. He's been able to look at that and say 'to be as good as I possibly can I need to correct the little things.'

"Anybody who's watched him throw is like 'wow, he's smooth.'"

Jewell said Gilbert was always a focused athlete, but he's even more focused now. It comes across in a calmness. He's performed at a high level on a big stage and that's been a benefit this season, and will help him today.

"Having been down there twice already, of all the guys that are going down there from Howard County, he's probably the one that's going to be the least worked up," Jewell said. "If you're a sophomore hurdler like Quincy is, you won't sleep for three days. I think Steven Edwards qualified in the 100, he's never done track before. Tayson, I talked to Tayson last week after the meet and he said 'I didn't jump very well.' I said 'you've only been doing this for 12 weeks.' He said 'I want to jump in the state meet.'

"Tyler's obviously been there. He knows what high level is. [His mindset is] get there and take care of business."