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Tayala dominates Division III meet
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McDonald's Matthias Tayala releases his second throw in the shot put finals during the boys Division III State High School Track Meet at Ohio State University Friday, June 3, 2011. Tayala's throw went 64' 8" to give him the title.
By Joe Scalzo
COLUMBUS
Minutes after Matthias Tayala competed for McDonald High School for the final time, he found a seat on an aluminum bench in the infield of Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, spotted his coach, Lou Domitrovich a few feet away and started sticking his tongue out at him.
“You’re killing me!” Domitrovich yelled in the suddenly dusty air, half-smiling, half-crying, half-disbelieving what he’d just seen. Just like everyone else.
It started with a shot. It ended with a shock. Tayala didn’t so much compete in Friday’s Division III state track meet as take it over. He won the shot put with a throw that was 6 feet better than anything he’d ever thrown before and 6 feet better than anyone else competing. He won the discus with a throw that was 5 feet better than anyone had ever thrown at a state meet and 30 feet better than anyone else competing.
And when asked about that throw afterward, he lowered his voice and said, almost apologetically, “It feels good to know it’ll be there for at least another year.”
“It’ll be more than a year, Matthias,” Domitrovich said.
It won’t outlive his legacy, though. For more than 50 years, people in McDonald told stories of a legendary athlete named Ken Scarborough, who owned a discus title that no one could break (until Tayala did) and a reputation that no one could match (until Tayala did).
“Everyone said no one would ever come close to being quite the athlete that Ken Scarborough was,” Domitrovich said. “Matthias has used that as motivation.”
But that can wait. First, Friday. Sporting newly bleached blonde hair, Tayala entered the shot put seeded fourth but decided to end the suspense on his second throw, which traveled 60 feet, 93/4 inches — 3 feet better than his previous best.
That one got a “Let’s go!” from Tayala. The crowd went nuts.
His second throw of the finals went 64-8.
That one got a “Let’s go, baby!” The crowd went bananas.
Domitrovich just shook his head and mouthed “Wow.” Tayala shook his head and said, “Where did that come from?”
“After I threw that, I said, ‘If someone beats me, they deserve to beat me,’” he said. “I wouldn’t have cared after that.”
A few hours later, at 3 p.m., the discus competition started. At 3:04, the discus competition ended. Tayala uncorked an 186-foot throw that would have won by 20 feet had he stopped there. He kept going, twice breaking the state meet record (first with a 194-1, then with a 196-3) and forcing the event official to bring out a special steel (i.e. nonstretching) measuring tape to verify the mark. Ironically, the previous record-holder, Isiah Kent of Colonel Crawford, beat Tayala at last year’s state meet with a throw of 193-3.
“Matthias, he’s got the tools, he’s got the God-given frame and build,” said Domitrovich. “But that’s only 50 percent of it. The other 25 percent comes from how hard you’re going to work and the other 25 percent is heart.
“He’s the total package and he’s going to be missed, not just at our school but in our area.”
In the fall, Tayala went out for football and, in his first year playing quarterback, earned third team All-Ohio and led the Blue Devils to the playoffs. In the winter, Tayala passed 1,000 career points, earned first team All-Ohio and led the Blue Devils to the regional final. In the spring, he capped his career with two trips atop the podium.
He stood alone. Among Valley athletes this year, he stands alone. But there’s still a matter of the team title and Tayala wants some company on the top step today.
“It’s kind of sad that it’s over,” he said, “but hopefully it’s not the last time I stand on that podium. I want to be up there one more time.”