Ravenna Ravens’ senior Bobby Melzer had come close to making it to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II state meet for several years. Having finally earned a state bid, Melzer did not waste a moment, earning eighth place in the shot put by throwing a distance of 54 feet, 8¼ inches last Friday morning at The Ohio State University’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.
“It feels good,” Melzer said. “I know I could have done better. It was a nice day out and I feel I should have done better but I have waited for it for the last five years and have done it now.”
Having netted a state berth by hurling a distance of 56 feet, 3 inches at the OHSAA Division II Austintown-Fitch regional meet on May 29, the Ravens’ senior was ranked as the top seed in the first flight of competitors.
Melzer rose to the top of the leaderboard with his first two throws and catapulted to first place with his final throw in the first flight a distance of 56 feet, 4 inches.
According to Melzer, if he wanted any chance of advancing to the final, he needed to win his first flight.
He noted that he needed to make the most of his final throw, as he knew there was a line of talented throwers in the second flight that could all overtake him and end his day early.
“It was big,” he said. “I was like on my last throw ‘This could be my last throw, but I am not going to let it be.’ I put a lot into it, and I really didn’t put too much form into it, I put more strength into it. I had to throw something on it just to make sure I got to the finals.”
He acknowledged he was sitting on pins and needles watching the second flight of competitors, as his fate would be determined by the performance of the next nine throwers.
“When I went into the final, I was seeded seventh in the preliminaries, but I needed to win this flight and I needed to win by a couple of feet,” he added. “I need to get out a good throw so I would not be the last person in the final.”
After Melzer’s final throw in the first flight put him in first place, he advanced to the final putting him in eighth place after the second flight finished competing. His throw was longer than that of Preble Shawnee junior Cooper Shrout; Norwayne senior Brandt Morlock scratched because of an injury.
Melzer did not better his mark in any of his final three throws but remained in eighth place as Shrout could not top his throw, landing him All-Ohioan honors.
“It was tough,” he acknowledged. “I was getting exhausted. I had to warm up and throw and then take a break and then warm up again and throw and honestly, I was just exhausted so I was just trying to put everything I could into it.”
Melzer’s improvement this year did not just apply to the shot put but also in the discus throw, netting him a state bid in both events and making him a two-time state qualifier.
According to Melzer, he parlayed his success in the shot put into the discus throw, which was the weaker of the two events.
“I figured I would qualify for the shot put, so I started to work more on discus,” he added. “Since I was doing better with shot put, it really boosted my morale to get better with discus. Then I just started throwing further and further; I just hit personal records meet after meet.”
On Saturday, Melzer did not enjoy the same success in the discus by finishing in 13th place hurling a distance of 150 feet, 1 inch. Although his time in the discus throw ended early, Melzer still wrapped up his high school career by becoming the new school record holder in the discus throw and now also ranks second in the record books in the shot put, behind Ravenna throwing great Dwight “Dyke” Fertig.
Coach Laddie Fair acknowledged the impact that Melzer left on the Ravens’ throwing program and the new standard that he has set for a new wave of Ravenna throwers.
“Bobby has been somebody with a lot of high character and meant a lot to the track and field program,” the first-year coach added. “He has made it relevant for our athletes to come and join the sport.”
Melzer will continue his athletic career when he attends West Virginia Wesleyan College to play football.
