NICOLETTE KREATSOULAS

FIELD — POLAND

Based on her two silver medals in the Division II discus, Poland senior Nicolette Kreatsoulas qualifies as the best thrower in a family filled with them.

But she’d rather brag about their accomplishments than her own.

“We all kind of have our talents,” she said. “My brother [Daniel] is very, very smart. He’s off in med school right now. My brother [Dave] is very artsy. He’s a really good writer. And my sister’s a dancer. So we all having our bragging rights.”

Kreatsoulas wasn’t always sure she’d have hers. Although her father and brothers were standout throwers, her mom didn’t let her start throwing until seventh grade. He first discus throw went 92 feet and her first shot put went 30 feet.

(For the uninitiated, that’s very good.)

Still, Kreatsoulas didn’t break through until her junior year, finishing fifth in the district as both a freshman and a sophomore. (The top four advance to regionals.) In both 2014 and 2015, she finished third in the district, only to take second in both the regional and state meets.

“When I hit my junior year, I focused more on technique and developing my full spin,” she said. “I guess I started to train a little harder, which helped my progress.”

She also credits her coach, Andrew King, who was hired when she was a freshman.

“He knows how to deal with me when I get emotional or get frustrated or when I’m happy, he knows what to say to me,” she said.

Kreatsoulas will now compete at Youngstown State, where she took a few college courses as a senior in high school.

“I have a long line of alumni who have gone there,” she said. “Cousins, aunts, uncles, my mom, and both my brothers went to Youngstown State. It kind of felt homey.”

That’s true of the track team, too.

“Coach [Brian] Gorby is probably one of the nicest coaches I’ve met,” she said. “And the whole team was very welcoming, so taking that into consideration and taking scholarships into consideration, that was my school.”