When the results came in last night I was skeptical. A discus thrower who has remained largely unnoticed breaks out with his first reported throw of the year over 200 feet? Must be a typo, right? WRONG!
Austin Gamble of Cypress Bay threw almost 40 feet farther than his season best of 165-10 from last season. When this massive throw of the disc finally reached the ground again it had been hurled 201-5.5 feet, placing Austin as not only #2 in the nation (behind super-stud Mason Finley of Colorado) but #3 all-time in the state of Florida.
The amazing thing is that the throw wasn't exactly a fluke, according to timekeeper Jerry Utecht of Track Timing & Data the Cypress Bay senior also "scratched on a throw that was approximiately 210 feet!" It certainly got some notice at the BCAA South Central Qualifier meet, "when he came up to throw... we had to get everyone off the track (because) if his throw went a little off course... it would land on the track!"
Gamble is also a star linebacker for Cypress Bay High School and has committed to attend Duke University in the fall on a football scholarship. He is a Top 50-rated inside linebacker in the nation according to Rivals.com and Scout.com. Of course with a monsterous season opener like that, surely more than a few coaches will be asking him about his college plans in track & field as well.
Gamble, whose father was the strength and conditioning coach for the Miami Dolphins for 12 years, stands at 6-1 and weighs 230 pounds. He is lovingly referred to as "Little Giant" by his team.
It will be pretty amazing to see how these last couple of months of track season treat Austin. Perhaps this "Little Giant" can pop off a few more giant throws. The state record is now only four feet away.