Daily Pilot High School Male Athlete of the Week: Smith shines in the field
Newport Harbor High’s Cole Smith welcomes a good competition.
Beyond the honor that comes with the territory, Smith’s competitive-streak is a major reason why he relishes showing up to the exclusive invitationals.
He has earned his keep at those meets over the years. Now a senior, Smith has become more than a name on the invite list. He is now the guest of honor, the star of the show.
Smith has won all but one competition that he has participated in this year. He is undefeated in the discus. The lone blemish is a runner-up performance in shot put at the season-opening Santa Margarita Eagle Invitational.
“At this juncture of my throwing career, I really just want to continue to dominate the field, to get bigger marks, and to establish my dominance, not just in the Southern Section, but in the state,” Smith said. “That is really something that I would love to accomplish and just make a name for myself.”
The Sailors standout has swept the throwing events at the Irvine Invitational, the Triton Invitational, and the Ruby Tuesday Invitational in Hawaii.
Last Saturday, Smith replicated the feat in taking field athlete of the meet honors at the Trabuco Hills Invitational. His winning marks were 61 feet, 8 inches in the shot put and 166 feet, 9 inches in the discus.
The shot put effort of 61-8 was a new lifetime best for Smith. The senior has taken great pride in watching his personal record grow in the event.
“Shot put feels like more of a brute event,” Smith said. “When you get a good throw in shot put, it’s just extremely fulfilling because you’re moving that 12-pound mass object farther than you ever have before. That’s just an extremely satisfying feeling.”
After last weekend’s performance, Smith moved up to eighth all-time at Newport Harbor in the shot put.
“That’s one of the perks of being in a good program,” Newport Harbor throws coach Tony Ciarelli said. “You have a lot of people in front of you that you can try to emulate.
“Last week, (Smith) passed up Tony Mancuso and Wade Tift, who were both state meet medalists. He’s pushing for the mythology of Newport.”
Success in shot put is not dictated solely by one’s technique. The validation of hard work in the weight room factors into Smith’s enjoyment of the event.
He has lifted as much as 195 kilograms (430 pounds) in bench-press and 240 kilograms (529 pounds) on squats. Those are the same marks he had hit last season, but he has been setting new personal records for repetitions at significant weights.
After three seasons with the same weight-lifting partner, it was not easy for Smith to return to training without Michael Jarboe, who did not come out for his senior season due to injury.
“I couldn’t find much motivation earlier in the season for weight-lifting because he would always be my spotter, and I’d always be working out with him,” Smith said of his former teammate. “We were extremely competitive together. I love being competitive, whether it’s in the weight room or at a track meet.”
Smith said the biggest determinant in regaining his motivation was that he wanted to improve upon his junior season.
The postseason provided excitement, as well as some laughs, for Smith last year. He was a first-time state meet qualifier. After placing 13th in the prelims of the state discus competition, he drew into the state final as an alternate after one of the finalists left the meet early to go to his high school prom.
“I had some excellent strokes of luck last year that certainly could have been claimed to be gypsy magic,” Smith said. “I was certainly thankful to have those turns of events.”
With state ranks of third (61-8) in shot put and 11th (172-9) in the discus, Smith was set to compete in the national-level Arcadia Invitational. His participation has been put in doubt by an illness.
It is not expected to contend with an ankle sprain that he sustained while reversing on a toe board during his sophomore year. The injury occurred in practice the week before Arcadia, and it kept him out of varsity competitions for a month until his season hit a do-or-die scenario with the arrival of the Sunset League Finals.
If Smith is unable to compete, the field will lose a quality performer and an athlete of character. The Sailors senior is as respectful as they come.
Asked if the bigger loss was missed opportunities to compete or the loss in training time, Ciarelli said, “It’s both, especially when you get towards this part of the season. There just aren’t that many opportunities left.”
Ciarelli said that Smith will not compete at Arcadia unless he demonstrates that he is able to perform in practice on Friday. Smith remained out of school with his illness on Thursday.
Cole Smith
Born: Aug. 18, 1998
Hometown: Newport Beach
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 220 pounds
Sport: Track and field (shot put and discus)
Year: Senior
Coach: Tony Ciarelli
Favorite food: Flank steak
Favorite movie: “Kelly’s Heroes” (1970)
Favorite athletic moment: His favorite athletic moment is watching his personal record grow in the shot put. Smith has nearly reached 62 feet in the event midway through his senior season.
Week in review: Smith swept the throwing events in being named the field athlete of the meet at the Trabuco Hills Invitational on Saturday. He produced marks of 61 feet, 8 inches in the shot put and 166 feet, 9 inches in the discus.
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
