‘I’m pretty happy.’ Golden Valley track star breaks discus record, places eighth in state

Golden Valley High junior Benito Lara broke a 26-year old school record and came home with an eighth place finish in the discus at the CIF State Track Meet this weekend.

Lara broke the record during Friday’s trials, unleashing a throw of 171 feet and 10 inches that earned the Cougars junior a return trip to the state meet on Saturday.

Lara’s mark broke the Golden Valley school record of 170-7 set by Josh Murdock in 1998.

After lasting 26 years, the new record barely lasted one day.

On Saturday, Lara broke his own record with a throw of 176-3 on his first throw, which qualified him for the finals in the discus at Buchanan High School.

“Honestly, I didn’t think it went that far,” Lara said. “It was my opening throw. I was surprised when they said the mark. It was my best technical throw I had on the day.”

“I’m just really happy. Now the younger generation will come in and see my record and they’ll know I did it when I was only a junior. I’m looking to get some bigger throws next year.”

Lara returned to Merced pleased with his performance on the state’s biggest stage.

“I’m pretty happy,” he said. “I finished eighth in the whole state. That’s a really big accomplishment.”