Thane Peterson flies down the backstretch. (Photo courtesy Sandi Farris)
The champion has left the building, but his successor is arriving.
After capping his stellar prep track and field career with a 2nd place finish in the discus at the 1A state meet this spring, Dalton Martin graduated and will now head off to throw in college.
As he leaves, Thane Peterson will make the jump from middle school to high school, intent on becoming Coupeville’s next great thrower.
Peterson, who will be a freshman at CHS in the fall, won a league title in the discus as an 8th grader, and his best throw at this stage of his career (101-04) is almost right on par with where Martin (102-02) was at the same age.
Whether he will one day fling it as far as his predecessor, who topped out at 161-07 as a senior, won’t be known for awhile, but Peterson will come in guns blazing.
“Some of my strengths are throwing the discus, visualizing the steps to throw in my head before I throw,” he said. “Some strengths I need to work on are timing the throws and getting the spin to a consistent speed.”
That will come with time, work and increased coaching.
Peterson, who also enjoys the 200 and 400, plans to add the javelin to his string of events next year. Being able to do more than just one thing is what draws his interest.
“My favorite sport is track and field, because of the ability to choose your events,” he said. “And then the freedom to practice those events is one of the best parts of the sport.
“The coaches are great and traveling to other places to compete is an exciting part of track.”
When he’s not practicing or competing, Peterson enjoys math class and pushes himself in the classroom.
“My goals for my freshman year and beyond is to keep straight A’s,” he said.
While he set a goal of breaking the 100-foot barrier in the discus this year (a 25-foot increase from his best throw as a 7th grader), he hasn’t decided yet what he will aim for as a freshman.
Whatever number he picks after talking to his coaches, “I will try my best to get it.”
In both sports and regular life, Peterson gets much of his support from his parents.
“They have been a big help all my life and have helped make me who I am.”
He also greatly enjoys the camaraderie which is built into the world of track, where large numbers of athletes train, compete and hang out together.
“The most enjoyable part of being an athlete is being part of a team,” Peterson said. “Being part of a team is a great part of playing a sport, because there are people who support each other.”
Coupeville Sports 