At State Class B Meet

His coach, Tom Eldred, was less certain about his top thrower's chances of repeating and only relaxed after Wheelhouse's chief competitor, top-seeded Adam Lovick of Clallam Bay, came up short in his last turn in the ring at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

"Was that fun or what?" quipped a relieved Eldred. "Of course it got a lot more fun after that (Clallam Bay) kid's last throw."

Wheelhouse's winning performance in the ring began with a toss of 155-1 in the first round of preliminaries. It was the best throw of the competition to that point and put the onus on the rest of his rivals to match or better that mark.

Two, Lovrick and Michael Wright of Mossyrock, came the closest but Wheelhouse's remarkable consistency--four of his six throws went 159 feet or farther--left no doubt that the reigning champion was going to be hard to beat.

Having been in the position of frontrunner before helped Wheelhouse deal with the pressure, most of which he had put on himself.

"It was mine to lose and I didn't want to lose," he said.

The first-place medal he put around his neck later in the afternoon was his third in a state discus competition and sixth overall. As a sophomore, Wheelhouse placed eighth in his second state discus competition.

Wheelhouse's teammate and classmate, Tanner Beeks, failed in his bid for a second state discus medal. Last year's seventh-place finisher--who entered state as the No. 7 seed--didn't make it to this year's event finals.

"What a heartbreaker," said Eldred. "He had some good throws in warmups," including a couple that reached the 140-foot line and easily would have gotten him into the finals round.

Beeks' best of three preliminary throws, however, traveled just 108-9--almost 25 feet less than his state qualifying mark.

Still, the three-time state competitor was philosophical about the experience of his last high school track and field meet.

"I have no regrets," Beeks said, adding, "I made it to state and I'd gladly come here again to lose."