Washington, Jones and Mason among nation’s elite

Arizona state record in boys discus throw, which stood for 30 years, has already been broken and 1958 standard in boys shot put could also fall by season’s end

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

When the names of the best prep track and field athletes ever to come out of Arizona are being thrown around in conversation, the throwers aren’t usually part of the discussion.

Turner Washington, Tyson Jones and Elijah Mason are committed not only to changing that narrative, but rewriting state history in the shot put and discus throw.

Washington and Mason, seniors from Canyon del Oro and Desert Vista, along with Jones – a junior from Desert Edge – are establishing themselves as the best collective group of Arizona high school throwers, and still have a lot more room to grow in the ring.

Washington is the national outdoor leader in the discus at 215 feet, 8 inches after setting the state record Saturday with his fifth-round throw at the 77th NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational, elevating to the No. 9 performer in U.S. prep history.

Washington eclipsed the 1987 standard of 212-11 belonging to Tempe High’s Dwight Johnson to remain ahead of Fort Bend Hightower senior Gabriel Oladipo, who equaled the Texas state record Saturday with his 215-2 effort at the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays.

“I feel like it’s great because it puts us on the map,” Washington said. “Before, Arizona has never been super strong in the throws, but now we are showing people what’s up. We’re coming for Texas now.”

Along with Mason ranking fourth nationally at 201-6 – also fourth in state history – Arizona is the only state with a pair of 200-foot discus throwers so far this season. Washington ranked sixth in the country last year at 202-0, with California the only state to boast multiple athletes over 200 feet.

With Jones at 66-8, Washington at 64-6 and Mason at 62-5 – all three ranking in the top 12 in the country – Arizona joins Texas this season as the only state with three shot putters with marks over 62 feet. Jones was the only Arizona athlete last year with a 60-foot effort, ranking 67th nationally at 60-4.

“With great energy like that, it makes the competition a lot easier. Your butterflies go away and you are able to have fun with it. It’s like a really good football game,” Mason said. “With that type of energy, you’re able to see people and talk to people who are able to throw as far as you, if not further, so they can help you with things and you can help them with things and it really just boosts everyone’s confidence.”

But that level of confidence hadn’t been present in Arizona throwers for decades when it came to performing at a national level.

Since the turn of the century, only eight Arizona high school athletes entered the season with shot put efforts better than 60 feet.

Until Mason produced an indoor personal-best 63-2 to win the Simplot Games title Feb. 18 in Pocatello, Idaho, and Washington and Jones both surpassed 63-1 within four days of each other in their outdoor openers in the first week of March, Brandon Pineda of Tolleson Union was the only Arizona athlete to even reach 63 feet in the past decade with his 2011 performance.

The drought in the discus was even more severe. In the past 25 years, Phoenix Greenway’s Doug Reynolds (200-9) and Washington were the only individuals to surpass 200 feet. Only four other athletes were over 190 feet.

In 2015, the state’s best marks were 57-6 in the shot put and 182-7 in the discus.

But with the improvement of Washington, Mason and Jones, along with the performances of Desert Vista graduate Torrey Hickel and North Canyon senior Austin Jackson, the standard has been raised the past two seasons.

“I’ve been working for this since freshman year, getting closer and closer, putting in more work and it’s finally paying off. It’s just building strength and improving technique because technique is everything,” Washington said. “You can only be so strong and throw so far just with that, but without technique you are going to be dead in the water.

“This year, we’ve spent a lot of work out of the back (of the ring) because everything in throwing is a cause and effect. If you drop too low out of the back, you are going to be too low at your finish, so we’ve just been working the back a lot and the finish.”

Only four high school athletes have ever thrown the discus past 220 feet, with Washington and Oladipo both possessing the ability to join Ryan Crouser of Barlow OR, Mason Finley of Buena Vista CO, Niklas Arrhenius of Mountain View UT and Kamy Keshmiri of Reno NV on that list before season’s end.

“I wrote my goals down my freshman year and I have the paper on my bedroom wall with all my medals and I look at it every day when I do my homework,” Washington said. “My first goal was to be the best in the country and then to improve 20 feet a year. I want to go to 222, which I think is very possible of hitting that throw in a dead-wind condition.”

With Washington looking to put the discus state record well out of reach for future competitors, the focus has now shifted in Arizona to the shot put and the longest-standing mark of 69-3 set in 1958 by Dallas Long of Phoenix North.

Jones’ performance Saturday at the NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational ranked No. 3 in state history behind Long and the 67-0.50 from Johnson in 1987. Washington’s 64-6 improved to sixth all-time in Arizona.

“My season goal is to hit 70 feet and break the record,” said Jones, who is looking to join 27 other high school athletes with 70-foot efforts in the shot put.

“I knew the intensity would be there with Turner and Elijah, both great throwers going over 60 feet, so I knew had to bring my game. I knew it was going to be a good day with those two.”

Although Washington and Mason are well ahead of the rest of the state in the discus, when it comes to the shot put, they acknowledge Jones has the best chance to break Long’s record.

“I think Tyson will get it,” Washington said. “He’s still young, he’s got a lot left in the tank and a lot of room left to grow as a thrower, so I think he’ll be able to get it soon.”

Mason, who has improved eight feet in the shot put and 19 feet in the discus since the end of last season, is confident Long’s standard will not survive another year with the continued improvement and motivation of the talented trio.

“I think Tyson is probably going to break it first and we’re going to have to follow him,” Mason said. “I think we’re all right there, it’s just going to be about the finish. We all wrap good in the middle, but it’s just the finish. Right now, it comes off of our hands just not right. It’s going to take a lot more hours in the weight room and just getting that finish down.”

The final six weeks of the season in Arizona will showcase excellence in sprinting, hurdling, distance running and relays. But the record watch will remain centered on the ring, with three of the state’s all-time best looking to leave a legacy as one of the best groups in the country.

“Last year, I was uptight and I wouldn’t want to talk to people before the meets. But seeing these guys who are also in the same position as me and we relate on something, it makes the meet a lot more enjoyable to connect with someone,” Washington said. “I’m just going to enjoy it. For the past two years, I would hit a mark and I would just keep pressing and that’s just not the way to do it. You’ve got to enjoy it. Track and field is supposed to be fun, not a job (in high school). You’re only young once.”