Layla Giordano sets personal best, wins girls discus Meet of Champions title

Photo Credits: Chris Faytok Nj Advance Media

Old Tappan junior Layla Giordano took the circle knowing that she had a state championship in the girls discus already in her grasp. Giordano’s first two throws in the finals were already better than everyone else’s throws during the day. But Giordano was looking to finish with a flurry with her final throw of the day. And did she ever.

Giordano hurled the discus 159-7, setting a personal mark by two feet and winning the girls discus state championship at the Meet of Champions at Franklin High School in Somerset on Thursday. It was the second state title for Giordano on the day, and it came roughly an hour after winning the shot put with a throw of 44-3 1/4.

“I feel like that’s always the goal; you just want to always win in any (meet) you go to, and that’s always my mentality,” Giordano said. “I want to win always. I’m a really competitive person, and I knew I was coming to this meet and my mindset was just to win.” She did it in style, improving from the third heat to the finals.

During the third heat of the discus, Giordano’s second throw went 139-3. On her first throw of the final round, she threw 148-5, easily setting the mark for everyone else in the field to try and catch. Her final throw of the day looked as if the wind was about to carry it out of the sector for a foul throw, but it stayed in and cleared her previous best, but it did fall just short of her personal goal.

“I’m just a little mad because it was a little off of my goal of 160 (feet),” Giordano said. “I have so much more potential left, and I think I’ll reach that goal in nationals this weekend, hopefully. I’m just really happy how I did today.” Giordano said she has only been throwing the discus for two years. Her coach, Peter Dunn, said he’s seen marked improvement from the lefty since she first picked up a discus last year. Giordano added she was thinking about starting the discus as a freshman, but decided against it, competing only in the shot put. She’s come a long way in a short amount of time. “The last throw kind of iced it for her, but it was fun,” Dunn said. “She had an awesome day. I’m proud of her. … The fact that she’s only a junior and she’s killing it right now, it’ll be fun to watch what she does moving forward.”

“I don’t know what my ceiling is at this point, but I have so many more goals in mind and I think as I keep getting more experience with the sport and throwing in general, I think that I’ll just keep going up and up,” Giordano added.

GIRLS DISCUS RESULTS

1 Layla Giordano 11 Old Tappan HS 159-7

2 Rylie Theuerkauf 12 Tenafly HS 132-10

3 Maylisa Bluford 11 Clayton HS 130-3

4 Catherine Vota 12 Colts Neck HS 130-1

5 Julia Sobilo 10 Immaculate Heart Academy 128-2

6 Ciara Demarest 12 Williamstown HS 127-6

7 Aniyah Murrell-Sanders 11 Elizabeth 122-6

8 Tyaja Thomas 12 Paramus Catholic 120-4

9 Aniyah Smith 11 Eastern Regional 116-2

10 Madison Griffin 12 Pope John 116-1

11 Ella Karp 10 Washington Twp HS 115-10

12 Kiomara Batista 12 Millville HS 113-7

13 Emily Kolodziej 11 Somerville HS 113-3

14 Savana Dodd 12 Eastern Regional HS 113-0

15 Brook-lynn Roberts 10 Winslow Township HS 111-3

16 Lea Del Grippo 12 Cinnaminson HS 111-0

17 Sunsarai Moore 9 Glassboro HS 109-1

18 Isabella D’Alessio 12 Pequannock HS 107-0

19 Sarah Slowikowski 12 NV – Demarest HS 106-9

20 Kayla Collins 11 East Brunswick HS 105-4

Source Link: https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2023/06/old-tappans-layla-giordano-sets-personal-best-wins-girls-discus-meet-of-champions-title.html

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