A whole new world opened for Andrew’s Jonathan Young in 2021 when football and track coaches Quinn Holler and Paul Garbrecht invited him to join the track team.
“I had never been to a track meet,” Young said. “I didn’t really have an idea of what track was. I was into football, and my freshman and sophomore years, I played baseball.”
A little more than a year after picking up the discus for the first time in his life and throwing it 105 feet, Young is taking the state by storm as a senior.
The 6-foot-6, 280-pound guard/defensive tackle broke Andrew’s 32-year-old record, unleashing the longest throw in the state at 177 feet, 6.25 inches at the Winston Brown Invitational on April 23 in Edwardsville.
Garbrecht said the scene after Young’s throw was wild. After the announcement of the distance, teammates ran to the discus area and mobbed him in a scene similar to students storming the court after a dramatic win in basketball.
“That was so awesome to watch,” said Garbrecht, the team’s throwing coach.
For an encore Thursday, Young delivered a 171-1 at the Pete Struck Invitational and broke the record for the Sandburg meet in helping the Thunderbolts take the team title.
“I’ve been coaching 30 years, and I’ve never seen a kid take to the discus like that,” Garbrecht said. “It was as if he were born to do it. It usually takes a kid two or three years to get it down.”
Dan Gerk’s 168-8 in 1991 had been the record.
Young confirmed he has not perfected his technique. While he has received guidance from his coaches, his cellphone also has been a learning tool,
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“I joined this group on Snapchat,” he said. “It helped me out with my technique. I ended up fixing a few things and I was ready to see what I could do.”
What he did in Edwardsville was huge.
“I let loose and gave it all I got,” Young said of the winning throw.
It’s too early to call Young a clear-cut favorite to win the Class 3A state title, but he’s definitely in the discus conversation.
In track, Andrew has won three state championships — the 800-meter relay team in 2003 and Matt Withrow running the 1,600 and 3,200 in 2004.
The Thunderbolts have not earned a state medal in the discus.
The last five winning distances in the 3A were 192-3, 205-11, 197-11, 196-9 and 205-8. The Chicago area hasn’t had a 3A discus champ since 2014.
Is it possible for Young to hit 200 in the coming weeks?
“I would not say that but I can think that,” Garbrecht said. “He still has things to work on. We want him to keep getting better. When you get a PR, you are a success, and that’s what we are looking at.
“With the warm weather comes a big difference in the body. Throwers love the warm weather — runners not so much. His potential for college is endless. What is his limit?”
Young said he has received some interest from colleges for football, but he’s also starting to get interest in track. St. Francis and Wisconsin-Oshkosh have shown interest in him for both sports.
But that was before the big heave in Edwardsville.
“Football is a lot of anger and a lot of fun with what you can say are your brothers,” he said. “Track is more of an individual sport, and it calms me down a little bit. I go through my steps and just focus on one thing at a time.
“I love them both.”
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Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.