Nashua South's Colin Quinn finished first in the javelin at the Class L championship
MERRIMACK – There was at least one athlete at the Class L track and field championship on Friday that was savoring the hot weather.
The hotter it is, the better it is for Nashua High School South junior Colin Quinn.
“I came into the meet really excited about the hot weather,” Quinn said. “I really like the hot weather.”
In between throws during the javelin competition, Quinn was wearing a jacket, despite temperature in the 80s.
But if it works, it works, and it certainly did for Quinn. The top seed in the javelin entering the meet, Quinn lived up to the billing and won the event with a throw of 174-4.
“I was shooting for 185, but I’m happy with it,” he said. “It feels really good.”
Quinn started the day by surprising himself in the shot put, throwing a personal-best 44-2½ and finishing fifth. The event also served as a nice warmup for his main event.
“It was like a little warmup,” Quinn said. “I threw shot put really well. I headed to jav feeling revved up.”
As the first flight of throwers went through, Quinn watched and saw some improvements the competition had made during the season.
“There were some throws out there that some people weren’t throwing before the season, but kind of warmed up to going into the meet,” he said. “There were a few worries, but I stayed confident.”
Once in the final of the event, Quinn got his winning toss on his first throw. He tried to improve on it in his final attempts, but couldn’t and had to hope it would hold up.
“I knew it was a good number to put up there, but I didn’t know if it was going to be the number,” he said. “I kept shooting for more. It stayed up there, so I’m happy.”
With the Meet of Champions up next on Saturday, Quinn feels he’s in a better shape than he was at this point last season.
“Last year, I kind of overtrained and at the end of the year, it went downhill,” he said. “I’m feeling the best all season right now. (Experience) helps so much. I knew exactly what not to do.”