Anthony Sullivan is a junior at Santa Rosa Academy who is described by his friends as eager to prove himself, as well as an optimistic person. As well as having determined character, Sullivan is also an athlete who partakes in multiple sports and excels in his most recent venture, track and field.
Anthony started track in eighth grade when he joined his middle school track team, with his season highlight being in the league finals at Woodcrest Christian Private School. He threw for 43 feet in the shot put category, and 78 feet in the discus category. This placed him fourth for shot put where he was able to receive a medal. Even with an extremely strong start to track and field, Sullivan then would go on to not participate for a few years and instead focused his efforts on football and a season of wrestling. This year, Sullivan decided to give track and field another chance and eventually decided to quit football. Playing the sport again made him fall in love with it, and Anthony was finally back onto his generational run.
This time around, he decided to prioritize throwing the discus farther with extensive lifting and ultimately hoping to qualify for CIF playoffs. The progression was noticeable and throughout the season Sullivan was getting back into the loop of cross country. He increased his throwing distance from 60 feet to nearly 90 feet within the span of a month. The combination of weightlifting along with his diligence in practicing his throwing form was starting to pay off. At his third league meet of the season, Sullivan threw an impressive 110 feet, which was not only a new personal record that he longed sought out after, but also enough to qualify for CIF.
The requirements to qualify for CIF in discuss is to throw 100 feet or above at the league finals. As long as Anthony was able to keep up the momentum and stay consistent with his throwing distance, he would be able to qualify.
When the day of league finals came, tragedy struck. He did manage to throw over a hundred feet on his first throw, but unfortunately the throw did not qualify due to him stepping over the line. The final throw was 98 feet, just a mere two feet short from qualifying for CIF. This was crushing, but also a valuable experience for Sullivan and reminded him that nothing is guaranteed, and you can’t take your foot off the gas for a split second.
Since this, Sullivan has continued his grind and is working harder than ever, and has increased his personal record to 115 feet. When asked what his goals were for next year Sullivan explained, “One of my major goals is to throw 150 feet in discus as well as making it past the preliminary round of CIF.” The preliminary round of CIF is the first round where the top nine competitors from each event move on to the CIF Southern Section Finals. Making it past the preliminary round is not only extremely difficult but requires a massive amount of self discipline.
While it’s too soon to say how Sullivan will compete in this upcoming season, it’s no doubt he’s worked to get to where he is today. Someone who has a hard work ethic like Anthony is always willing to go the extra mile in strength, training, and technique.
