MISSOULA — Eye-popping marks are already happening around Montana's high school track and field season, and arguably none have had quite the success Hunter Loesch of Corvallis has seen to start.
On April 4, Loesch uncorked a toss in the javelin that went an astounding 204 feet, 4 inches in Hamilton on his final throw of the day, a mark that easily sits as the best in Montana, but also ranks third in the entire country for high school javelin throwers according to Athletic.net.
"(The meet) started out a little slow, we warmed up a little earlier than we normally do, just kind of went out, got warm, stay a little warm, didn't throw any more," Loesch explained. "We got into our prelim throws, kind of just took it easy. And my last throw, I really wanted to focus on form. Didn't want to throw too hard.
"And then came out and it was a lot of fun to get out in finals and start throwing some hard throws and see some results."
The celebrations were modest as Loesch's mark was the best the state had seen since 2019.
"First people I contacted were coaches and former teammates, just happy to spread good news out and you know, hear some good advice," Loesch said. "Hear a lot of good things from other people that had good weeks and it was fun."
Loesch has seen a steady progression in javelin over the years, with a third-place state finish as a sophomore followed by a second-place mark last season.
So as a senior, he's trying to break through with his own individual title while aiming to help the Blue Devils three-peat on the team side.
"This summer, I felt like really confident coming out," Loesch said. "I had a couple camps right out of state last year that I was throwing pretty good about the same I'm throwing right now.
"Coming into the early weeks of track, I was hoping to get a 190 throw, get a PR and then I started out a little slow. Hit 186 back-to-back meets and then I hit the 194 last week on my first throw of finals and I kind of felt like got to loosen up a little bit, have some fun with it and then just relax and help me throw a little bit further."
Loesch followed that up with a pair of throws in the mid-190s and another of 201-7 last Friday in Missoula at the MCPS Invitational, and it's that consistency he wants to show his performances are no fluke.
"Some throwers, you know, hit a PR early in the season and never get even close to it again and then being able to come out and get consistency and knowing that you know you hit your plateau and you can break another one here," Loesch said. "Really positive thing to look forward to."
Loesch has been working on his runway approach the most, using a shorter approach to hit that mark so far while working up to a full routine. He has been trying to rest his arm in between meets to stay fresh which has helped him stay steady with his marks.
So for Loesch, records, titles, and hopefully a chance to throw in college after this year are the goals, as he puts the finishing touches on this hot start. Loesch has received some college interest, including the University of Montana, and is hoping to take it to that next step.
"Having the chance to come out this year and really just have a good competing mindset and come off of last year hot," Loesch said. "We've got good goals. You know, win state, have a winning team this year."
