St. John gives throwing one final hurrah

Lake senior Hayley St. John is going to play basketball next year at NAIA Lourdes University, where she will major in psychology.

However, with the Lourdes coaching staff’s blessing, she is running track this spring. She is having a hard time realizing her prep sports careers are coming to an end. She is a standout soccer player as well.

“I am really trying to soak it up because we did not have a track season last year. Some of the people on the team were already my good friends so it is already bittersweet,” St. John said. “It is kind of crazy. It does not seem real. It is really kind of hitting me now.

“He (Lourdes basketball coach John Kenger) always says track is first for now. They always have open gyms, but I practice (track) every day. He would rather that I go to track obviously. There are some open gyms on Wednesdays, but it interferes with track, so I have not really gone too much, but during the summer I am going to be going to all the open gyms.”

St. John’s shot put toss of 35 feet, 11¾ inches this season is good enough for a school record, breaking Lauren Ozuk’s mark of 35-5 set in 2014. At the Northern Buckeye Conference meet, her toss of 34-8 was good for second place behind Eastwood junior Ava Kiefer (39-1½). It is the second time St. John has gotten accolades, earning honorable mention all-league as a sophomore. 

Lake coach Jason Schober says St. John has shown “continual improvement” throughout her prep career. He believes St. John could play more than one sport at Lourdes if she wanted to.

“I’m sure she could throw there as well. We have a lot of young athletes who could go run at the next level if that is what they choose to do,” Schober said.

St. John is throwing the discus over 100 feet but finished fifth at the NBC meet with a toss of 100-1 behind Elmwood sophomore Anna Barber (125 feet), Eastwood senior Hannah Friend (121), Genoa junior Hannah Bradfield (113-9), and Fostoria freshman Karma Williams (107).

Getting the two techniques down, which vary for both throws, can be a challenge. Fortunately for St. John, she has throwing coach Josh Andrews working with her.

“The form is different but when you wind up it is actually the same,” St. John said. “You can do a full spin, which is what I do for discus, and then for shot put I do a half spin, but obviously the ball and the discus are very different, so you have to really get used to both of them.”

The throwing events have always been something she loves.

“I started doing it since I was in seventh grade and ever since then I’ve really enjoyed it. This year was my first year trying high jump and I have to think I’m pretty good at it for my first year,” St. John said.

In the high jump, St. John and another senior, Jenna Muetze, are tied for the team best at 4-8, which would have placed them in the top three at the NBC meet, but St. John scratched on her first attempt and did not continue. Muetze cleared 4-4, placing eighth at the league meet.

“Senior Jenna Muetze joined the team as a senior this season to help out with pole vault and has become very good at high jump very fast,” Schober said.

Schober says having St. John put in one more season has been a blessing for his team.

“She has the most points in meets this year for our ladies and guys teams, which is very impressive only doing three events all year,” Schober said. “She is a captain and has had a great attitude this year and has been a great leader for a girls team that is 7-2 in dual and tri-meets this year and besides the Oak Harbor Invite has finished in the top half of every invitational we have went to this year, with a best finish of third out of 16 at Lakota and third of out nine at Otsego.”