REGION TRACK: Green Valley senior looks to sweep throwing events
It’s a cold and rainy December day over high school winter break, and Green Valley track and field coach Mark Fordney is preparing to run his annual holiday errands.
As he leaves the house and makes his way to the nearest mall, Fordney takes notice of a scene in the distance at the school’s football field.
It’s Green Valley senior Brady Williams, alone, tossing a shot put and discus.
“I don’t live far from here, so during Christmas time I’m running back and forth to the mall,” Fordney said. “It’s winter break, and Brady is out there in the rain with his discs, throwing by himself. That’s how he’s gotten to where he is. He’s a hard worker. No one told him to do that, he just did it.”
Williams has become one of the top shot put and discus throwers in Southern Nevada and is favored to win both events in the Sunrise Region meet. The Sunrise and Sunset Region meets begin at 8 a.m. today with track preliminaries and finals in some field events, including the boys shot put.
The second day of both region meets is May 9 at Del Sol.
“I kind of want to win,” Williams said with a smile. “I don’t like to think of anything as definite, because even on a bad day anything can happen.”
Williams, who last year finished second in both events to Liberty’s Reno Tu’ufuli — now a freshman thrower at Iowa — understands the virtues of sportsmanship and remaining modest.
But it’s no secret the 6-foot-4-inch, 235-pounder has the talent to sweep both throwing events.
Since giving up football after his freshman year, Williams has steadily improved on his personal records and become a full-fledged student of the sport.
“He started looking at videos, he started knowing who all the old-timers were,” Green Valley throws coach Kenneth Stumpf said. “And he really got juiced for the throws.”
Williams, a Northern Arizona signee, credits the competition with Tu’ufuli and former teammate Tyrell Crosby, an Oregon football player, for helping his growth.
“It was great competing against Tyrell every day (last season),” Williams said. “We were battling. We were friends, but we’d go back and forth. And the same with Reno whenever we competed against him. Me and Reno help each other in the offseason because we’re on the same club team.”
Williams hasn’t been challenged much in Southern Nevada this season. He holds the Gators’ school record in the shot put (56 feet, 6 ¾ inches) and is second in the discus (179-1). Both marks lead the state in Division I.
He hopes to end his career with school records in both events.
“That’s the goal,” said Williams, who places a trash can at the 182-foot mark before each practice. “It already happened in the shot put, so I want to double up.”
Green Valley’s boys are seeking their second consecutive Sunrise Region title, and the girls hope to improve on a second-place finish to Coronado last season.
Centennial’s boys and girls will be looking to repeat as Sunset Region champions.
Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.