Sport

Track & Field

Events

Shot Put, Discus, Hammer

It's not easy to make a track & field team truly feel like a "team." After all, each athlete competes on their own, locked in battle with the either the stopwatch or the tape measure.

Try telling that to Cuyamaca throwers Thomas Fadden, Colton Clark, and Jeremyah Quichocho -- otherwise known as the Three Amigos.

"Other teams, they wear the same uniform," says Thomas. "But they're not close."

"We started getting a more pumped-up vibe since the Glendale meet," says Jeremyah. "We were rowdy when we would throw, and then after that it would be like a golf tournament. To be honest, other teams look at each other like we're weird."

Thomas set a personal record (PR) in the shot put at Glendale, plus a season best in the discus.

"For some reason," he says, "that day, it was like...PR, no problem."

Jeremyah quickly offers him a reason: "We were yelling at you!"

"I think it's a difference maker," says Colton. "Glendale was when we really started to try it, when we realized how important it was."

So have the rest of the Coyotes embraced their voice-raising and back-slapping ways?

"The rest of the team comes to us," says Jeremyah. "They ask us to pump them up."

"Most of the other events aren't like throwing," says Colton. "There's a lot of aggression involved."

As Thomas points out, a throw usually lasts just one or two seconds.

"But in that time period, you have to generate so much energy, so much passion."

The trio also generated plenty of distance at the recent PCAC Finals, as they placed 1-2-3 in all three of the throwing events.

"Conference-wise, we were the dominant force," says Thomas, who finished first in the hammer.

Colton won both the shot and the disc. But it was his third-place finish in the hammer that raised eyebrows.

"I was the wildcard for the hammer," he says. After dabbling in it early in the season, he shifted his focus exclusively to shot put and discus. But in the week leading up to conference, head coach Pat Thiss had him try it again.

"We went into it thinking, 'Maybe we'll get some points.' And then I ended up getting third."

The squad is now in the midst of the Southern California Regional. Colton and Jeremyah have advanced to Saturday's finals in both shot and discus, where they're competing for a slot at the state meet in Sacramento.

After that, Colton is headed to UC Santa Barbara in the fall. Thomas plans to transfer to Cal State San Marcos. And Jeremyah is weighing scholarship options. All three hope to continue their throwing careers -- and maybe bring their new teams a little bit closer together.