'I knew that was the one': Dillon Morlock unleashes 70-foot shot put at Triway Invite

WOOSTER TWP. — Norwayne’s Dillon Morlock didn’t celebrate Friday after resetting the state record for the second time this season.

All the senior could do was take it all in.

Morlock’s third throw of the day not only broke the record to win the event at the Triway Invitational, but the reigning Division II state champ became the first person in area history to ever push the shot put over 70 feet.

Track and Field: Wayne/Holmes area's top times and marks

“I was really focused in on a couple technical ques today and the ball was flying,” said Morlock, who finished with mark of 70-feet-½. “I didn't want to say it out loud, but I knew it was going to be a good day.

“I've had throws before where I’ve let it go and I said, 'Yes,' after it and been really excited, but that one came out of my hand, and I was just speechless. I knew that was the one.”

Little did Morlock know that the record-setting mark was just the first of many career accomplishments on the day as the upperclassman as he would win the discus later in the meet with a personal-best 187-7 which, like the shot, is currently the best mark in the entire state.

The Michigan State recruit knew something was brewing after he stepped into the ring for his first try in the shot and posted what was then a career-long 67-3½.

“I came back to (teammate) Brandt (Morlock) and I was like, 'It's going to be a really good day,'” Dillon Morlock said. “It wasn't coming out just right that first throw and it didn't the second one either, but I knew if I could do it on the other two that it was going to be a good toss.”

The shot win came against Brandt, who matched his cousin’s impressive distance with a personal-record toss of his own, pushing the metal ball 62-10½ on his first attempt.

But Dillon would keep that momentum going into the discus competition with a 187-7 on his first twirl of the round — one of three tosses that would go for over 183 feet.

“It gave me a little edge up,” he said the win, which came over Orrville’s Talon Beichler (154-8). “Confidence like that just helps in a competitive atmosphere, to be confident in yourself and trust that you can put one out there; you just need to do it. That's really what I had today that I was lacking in other meets.”

Morlock’s historic day was just the lead-in to what was a highlight-heavy day for local athletes, who captured wins in 13 of the 17 events.

Orrville continued its winning streak by taking its third straight weekend meet with a 108-point day to outlast Ontario (94½) and rival Wooster (85). Waynedale was fourth with 71, followed by Norwayne with 68.

And the Red Riders did it with a balanced lineup that picked up points all night long, led by wins in the long jump by Trent Roe and the 4x400-meter relay team of Caden Race, Tyler Stoffer, Daniel Comito, and Matthew Smotherman combining for victory in 3:36.72.

Roe, who participated in the four events on the day, cleared over 20 feet in the long jump for the third time in an invitational, this time recording a mark of 20-9 for the first-place finish.

And it came down to the final attempt of the day as the junior sat in second place before having one more chance for the win.

“I was so nervous,” Roe said. “I had to take my time and get a breather, because I knew that I could do it. When I put it all together, I was able to do it. It felt good.”

A pair of West Holmes athletes would help complete the area sweep of the field events as Kyle Maltarich won the high jump with a mark of 6-2 and Tristen Middaugh took top honors in the pole vault with a 13-foot leap.

For Maltarich, who cleared a personal-record 6-6 earlier in the week, the modest height is something that he knows will get better as the season progresses — especially when it starts to heat up.

“This is one of two meets that it hasn't rained at,” the senior said, with a smile. “Once the weather starts getting nicer, the wind dies down, and I progress through the season with form and stuff it's meant to go up and it will.”

Both Dalton’s Sammy Tomlinson and Waynedale’s Jeremy Reber won a pair of individual events on the track — Tomlinson cruising to victory in both the 100 (11.79) and 200 (personal-record 23.71), while Reber was first in the 110 hurdles (15.62) and 300 hurdles (41.37).

The final heat of the 300s was one of the closest finishes of the night as Reber was neck-and-neck with Orrville’s Bronson Rogers (PR 41.67) and Ontario’s Aiden Fox (41.82) before clearing the final hurdle and sprinting to the win.

“I could feel them coming on the outside, so that's all it is —dig deep and hope for the best,” said Reber, who was competing in just his third meet of the season after battling a nagging hamstring injury. “Just to get back into the groove felt really nice. I'm hoping I can build off of this.”

Wooster’s Oliver Miller, Jack Frichtl, Talen Keys and Owen Buchholz combined to clock a 8:12.95 for the win in the 4x8 relay, while the Generals also had a first in the open 400 with junior Tristin Walker’s career run of 52.71.

Buchholz, who also was second in the 800, was pleased with the way the distance relay group performed in their first time running together since the season-opening McCay Relays,

“We just wanted to go out hard and make a good impression,” he said. “Everyone was chipping in. We didn't start too far in the front, so everyone had to do their part to help us catch-up.”

Waynedale’s Jackson Varner was a winning in the 3,200, clocking a 9:56.35, while Wooster’s 4x1 and Dalton’s 4x2 both were runner-up in their respective races.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Boys Track & Field: Norwayne's Morlock sets record at Triway Invite