Tayala falls short of another NCAA title

June 11, 2015 at 12:06a.m.

By finishing second in the hammer throw at the NCAA outdoor nationals on Wednesday, Kent State senior Matthias Tayala surpassed a lot of expectations.

Just not his own.

“I’m a little disappointed, but at the same time, I was supposed to get fourth [based on the seeding], so it can’t be really bad,” said Tayala, a McDonald High graduate who won last year’s national title in the event.

Tayala’s best throw was 71.56 meters (234 feet, 9 inches), while USC senior Conor McCullough placed first with a throw of 76.91 meters (252-4) at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

“I had a couple throws in warmups close to that [McCullough’s throw] and I was kind of excited, but I never built on those throws in the actual competition,” said Tayala, speaking by phone on Wednesday afternoon.

“I know I could have pushed him, but it is what it is.”

Tayala won last year’s title with a career-best throw of 73.57 (241-4) on his final attempt. McCullough originally attended Princeton before transferring to USC and was granted a sixth year of eligibility this season by the NCAA. He is 24, while Tayala just turned 22.

Tayala will be back in Eugene in two weeks to compete at the USATF outdoor championships. He plans to move back home to McDonald this summer.

“As of now, I don’t know where I’ll be post-collegiately but I’ll be throwing a few more years at least,” he said.

Tayala won Division III state titles in the shot put and discus in 2011 and still holds the state meet record in the discus (196-3). McDonald senior Christian Smith holds the overall Division III record in the discus (203-9) and won the state title in the discus last weekend, but his winning throw (191-2) fell short of Tayala’s mark.

“I’m kind of surprised he didn’t break my record,” Tayala said. “With him being that far out [earlier in the season], you would have expected it. But I guess I’ll keep that record for a few more years.”

Smith will attend Kent State next season, joining former McDonald standouts Jai’Lyn Mosley (who won shot and discus state titles in 2014) and Victoria Ross.

“McDonald has always had a great tradition with the throws and we’re pretty much filtering McDonald athletes to Kent,” Tayala said. “That’s pretty cool.”

Relay fails to advance

Kent State’s 4x400-meter relay ran a 3:08.36 in the semifinals to finish 16th out of 24 teams, failing to qualify for the finals.

The relay includes McDonald High graduate Miles Dunlap, a senior, and South Range High graduate Andrew O’Leary, a sophomore.