Question: When does a 6-foot-8, 325-pound senior schoolboy athlete cry?
Answer: After he sets a national high school record.
He’s big, he’s bad and he’s almost always reserved, but deep down Mason Finley is emotional, even if he chooses not to show it.
On Saturday at Alamosa’s High Altitude Challenge at Adams State College, the mountain of a kid in the Rocky Mountains hurled the discus 236 feet, 6 inches, the best in the history of prep track and field here or anywhere. It was as if Finley were using a remote control on his own flying saucer, a toss that surpassed the previous national mark set earlier in the decade by more than 2 feet.
If you know Finley, you won’t be surprised that he didn’t thump his chest or run around yelling and flailing his arms as if he found a cure for a disease or saved someone’s life.
But for the kid who’s larger than most NFL linemen, he was due a moment of release.
Who was going to argue with him?
“It was awesome, incredible,” said Buena Vista’s Finley. “A lot of people thought it was pretty freaking cool.”
After multiple measurements confirmed a buzz that began the instant his throw sailed past the 200-foot mark, and while the cheers and pictures kept coming, Finley was wandering around with his hands on his head.
“I just grabbed him,” Demons coach Kyle Graff said. “He said, ‘I’m going to cry.’ He’s just so humble and so cool.”
Finley, who routinely surpasses 200 feet while others don’t come close on once-in-a-lifetime days, had been in a hurry as to be ready for prom later in the day. His first attempt traveled 223 feet. The light bulb in his head went off — perhaps the time was here.
“I was just doing the form correctly on the first one, I kept it really smooth,” Finley said. “Then it went out really far. . . . On my second throw, I wanted to do the same thing, only faster.”
He did and was certain it was a good one, but not that good.
“I didn’t know it was that far,” he said. “Then when they measured it, I was mostly surprised.”
Ho-hum. He finished with a toss of 226 feet. Perspective: A year ago, Finley won his second Colorado championship and reached 222-1, more than 35 feet better than what he threw in 2007.
“Three throws, three Colorado bests,” Graff said.
Finley stops more meets than Colorado’s nasty spring weather — when he’s set for an attempt, everyone in the stadium seems to be directly watching or sneaking a peek. He’s a head-turner while standing still or in the middle of propelling a track implement into the heavens. The No. 1 national track recruit enlists a sort of prep paparazzi, yet remains as Smalltown Colorado as it gets.
He all but apologizes.
“I had three meets last week, so I was pretty tired,” Finley said. “I didn’t expect to get anything. . . . I was trying to hit 210 or so. I put in a lot of work to finally get here.”
By no means is Finley done. He wants to throw 240 feet before he enters UCLA. He’ll have a league meet at St. Mary’s and regionals at Pagosa Springs, and then the Denver area will be treated — a format change will have all classifications of the Colorado meet at Lakewood’s Jefferson County Stadium from May 14-16.
And he wants at least 74 feet in the shot put. His best is 71-3N, also a state record. Nationally, it’s 81-3 1/2 by Michael Carter of Dallas in 1979. That is considered the most difficult prep mark to overtake.
But who knows? Finley, who also has the summer circuit to continue his legacy and was named USA Track and Field athlete of the week, may run into one of those days when his form is just right. “I’m still trying to go farther,” he said.
