TOP MOMENT OF THE MEET 2: Rhys Ryba Subdues The Shot Put
Ten months ago, prospects were not looking so great for the TCA boys shot put. Having just graduated three seniors who were regulars beyond 40 feet, this year had every appearance of being a rebuilding year.
Sometimes gifts come in the most unexpected ways.
Rhys Ryba, a junior at The Classical Academy, sustained an injury in football season which limited his running, so he started picking up heavy objects and throwing them.
Quietly, Ryba won the TCA Polar Bear almost a month ago with a toss of 41-4. Nice, but hardly the kind of stuff that makes people start thinking of Jeffco Stadium on the third weekend in May.
All that changed on Saturday.
Ryba popped a 47-4 put in prelims and continued peppering the sector with heaves well beyond 40 feet in finals. The closest anyone at Dutch Clark Stadium could muster to Ryba's big throw was a 44-11 from Pueblo East's Kain Medrano.
For his efforts, Ryba starts the season at #3 in the 3A Boys shot put rankings. Lutheran's Jacob Dack and Lamar's Ricardo Gallegos, both well-established veterans of the ring, hold down one and two, but Ryba enters the fray with a warning shot heard around the classification.