Monday, February 21, 2011
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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McDonald's Matthias Tayala throws the discus during Division III competition at Ohio State University's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Tayala finished second place in the event.
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
Dan Skiba, of Mineral Ridge, competes in the Division III long jump event at Ohio State University's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Skiba went on to finish in first place in the event.
By Joe Scalzo
When McDonald senior Matthias Tayala signed with Kent State’s track & field team earlier this month, it allowed him to look forward to something he hasn’t had in awhile: an offseason.
“I can’t wait,” said Tayala, who is also a terrific football and basketball player. “I’ll actually be able to gain some weight. In football and basketball, I’m always running and losing so many calories.
“It’ll be kind of exciting to have a natural offseason where I can do some heavy lifting.”
Tayala is averaging close to 20 points and 10 rebounds per game on McDonald’s undefeated basketball team. He throws in indoor meets on the weekends, using them as practice since he has neither the time nor the place to train.
“There’s nowhere to throw indoors, so I usually just get a 45-pound plate and do winds and stuff with it,” said Tayala.
And yet, he recently threw the weight 66 feet, 11 inches, which ranks 12th in the nation and first among Ohioans.
Tayala is also good in the discus, where he finished second in the event in Division III at last year’s state outdoor meet. Last year’s winner, Colonel Crawford senior Isiah Kent, set a state meet record by throwing 193-3 — about two feet farther than Tayala. Kent, who also won the shot put, has since given Tayala plenty of motivation for this season.
In fact, whenever Tayala is in the weight room and needs to squeeze out one more rep, his friends will mention Kent’s name.
“It makes me mad,” he said.
Does it work?
“Every time,” he said. “Sometimes I get three more.”
Tayala has set his sights on throwing 210 feet this spring, which would crush Ohio’s overall state record of 204-5, set by Akron Ellet’s Charles Moye in 1987.
“My dad wants me to go a little farther, maybe 214, but I think 210 is a good goal,” he said, chuckling.
Regardless, his future is bright. Tayala had offers from big schools such as Ohio State and Florida State but chose Kent because it’s close, it’s got a good indoor facility and it cares about its track program.
“Kent takes it more seriously than most of those schools do,” he said. “Their throwing program is top-notch.”
Mineral Ridge senior Dan Skiba will continue his track career at YSU. The two-sport standout originally wanted to play football and run track, but decided to focus on one sport.
“The more I thought about, the more I realized it would be a lot of work to play football and run track in addition to all my school work,” said Skiba, who won a Division III state title in the long jump as a sophomore two years ago. “So I decided to stay local and do what I like to do.”
He said YSU’s strong track and field tradition, combined with the new indoor training facility and the school’s location gave it an edge over other programs. He plans to compete in long jump and triple jump, although he’s open to competing in some sprint relays “if I’m fast enough.”
“It’s a big relief,” he said of the decision. “I feel like a lot of pressure is off me.”
Skiba finished fifth in the long jump at last spring’s state meet, which he considered a disappointment.
“I’m hoping to do what I did my sophomore year,” said Skiba. “I know I can do a lot better than what I did last year.”