Swiss Army Knife
About this time last month after a Jamboree filled weekend, I wrote an article pointing out Union County's Callie Wetzel who, in her first meet as a Tennessean, won both hurdle events at the East Tennessee Jamboree hosted at Farragut. While not much about Callie's ranking has changed since (she continue to hold the #1 spot in both events for Division I Class AA), it's what her older brother has done that has now commanded our attention. For Class AA, Senior Alden Wetzel currently ranks #1 overall in the 200m dash with a 21.93, #3 overall in the 100m dash with an 11.08, and #5 overall in the... are you ready for this? Shot Put. At a meet at Lenoir City on Tuesday he threw a new PR of 49-3! Below was that throw.
I'm sure there are state historians that know but when was the last time you saw an athlete that had the capabilities of going sub-11, sub-22, sub-50, and over 50 feet in shot? Last year in Pennsylvania he finished 3rd at state in the 400m dash with a 49.83. This was his qualifying run where he ran 49.94.
Wetzel intends on becoming a multi-eventer in college and while there are some holes on his profile (no hurdles or pole vault) there's enough that suggest he is going to be a tough out in the Decathlon this season. He carries decent marks in the High Jump and Discus from previous seasons. Since becoming editor, I've made it a point to highlight all the out of state transplants that have moved to Tennessee, mostly from California, in the middle of their high school careers. While some have had a moderate impact, others, like Kyler Nichols, have won state championships. If Alden can continue on this trajectory, he could join Nichols as an out of state transplant that stood atop the podium in Murfreesboro in his first season in the Volunteer state and in this case, his only.