Gonzalez Goes Out on Top, Captures Discus Crown for Second Time

Jan 24, 2024

By David Biggy | on June 21, 2023

THAT’S ALL, FOLKS: Southern Regional senior Fabian Gonzalez heaves the discus one last time in a Rams uniform during the NJSIAA Meet of Champions on June 15. Gonzalez won the state title for a second time. (Photos by David Biggy)

Going out on top of the proverbial mountain is every high school senior’s dream. Of course, what, exactly, the “top of the mountain” looks like for each one is a little different. For Fabian Gonzalez, it meant being in the state’s first spot in the discus standings.

“I have a love-hate relationship with the shot put,” said Gonzalez, moments after cementing his place in Southern Regional track and field history as one of its best throwers by capturing the NJSIAA Meet of Champions discus title for a second time on June 15. “It would have been nice to win the shot as well, but the disc has always been my favorite event. This one meant more to me.”

This year’s discus championship didn’t mean more simply because it’s his favorite event, though. Gonzalez entered this year’s journey toward another title with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, considering last year’s seventh-place finish after snatching the title as a sophomore in 2021.

“This one definitely meant more, especially after last year’s bad performance,” he said. “It’s been in the back of my head all season. I didn’t have the year I wanted to have, or should have had, by any means. My focus was somewhere else and not in the circle. But I came into this season driven. I knew what I had to get done, and I just thank God for giving me all these opportunities, blessing me every single day in allowing me to do what I do. I’m so grateful for how everything turned out.”

During the first event of the day for Gonzalez, his main competition was St. Rose junior Josh Huisman, who in May had won the Shore Conference shot put title on the first day of the meet while Gonzalez didn’t compete. The conference champ gave him quite the battle for the top position.

ONE OF THE BEST: Southern senior Fabian Gonzalez fires the shot put during the preliminary round of the event on June 15. He ended up second overall.

After Gonzalez’s third throw of the preliminary round yielded his best attempt at 63 feet, 11 inches, he was in first place heading into the final round, where Huisman delivered his top mark of 64 feet, 7¾ inches on his first attempt. Gonzalez topped out at just over 60 feet in the final and ended up second behind Huisman, while Bergen Catholic sophomore Benjamin Shue took third with a top throw of 61 feet, 6¾ inches.

“I have a lot of respect for all the top guys, and I’m thankful to have been part of such a great field of competitors,” Gonzalez said. “Josh is a great kid and competitor, and he’s going to do amazing things. I’m happy for him that he was able to get a PR here at the state meet.”

But then it was on to the next battle, where Shue was the No. 1 challenger coming out of this year’s group championships. Again, heading into the final round, Gonzalez had the lead, tossing the disc 193 feet, 7 inches on his second attempt of the prelim round, while Shue managed a top mark of 190 feet, 7 inches.

During the final, Shue struggled to get his form right on two of his three throws, his second mark falling well short of Gonzalez’s top distance. Gonzalez’s final throw landed at 192 feet, 8 inches, but he already had gone into that attempt knowing he had won his second discus championship.

On June 16, Gonzalez concluded his high school career by beating Shue for the New Balance Nationals boys’ discus championship in Philadelphia. His top mark of 193 feet, 5 inches bested Shue by nearly 4 feet. Two days later, Gonzalez finished third in the New Balance Nationals boys’ shot put championship with a high mark of 63 feet, 6¼ inches, falling in behind champion Dillon Morlock and runner-up Hayden Dixon.

AIMING HIGH: Southern junior Matt Nolan tosses the shot put during the NJSIAA Meet of Champions at Franklin High School on June 15.

“Fabian cemented his spot as an elite Southern athlete,” said Southern throws coach Dylan Larson. “He’s going to be impossible to replace. Just take his athleticism and achievements out of the equation and he’s still one of the best young people I’ve ever been around. I’m so proud of him. He’s a special person. He doesn’t cut corners or skip reps. He’s a quiet leader, and he knows he still has more in the tank. His journey with us is over, but his work ethic is second to none, and his best days are ahead of him.”

Fortunately, Larson had the privilege of coaching two athletes at the Meet of Champions – junior Matt Nolan was among the field after taking fifth in the Group IV meet a few days earlier. Unfortunately, Nolan didn’t toss the shot put above 50 feet in the season finale, topping out at 49 feet, 3½ inches to place 25th overall.

“I wish I could have done better today, but it is what it is,” Nolan said. “The takeaway for me is to always work harder, keep making improvements, and never take anything for granted. But I’m really happy for Fabian. When you’re around him, second place kind of becomes normal. Following him, you learn that you can always keep working to be better than you are right now. There’s always another step. He’s more than partially the reason why I’m still achieving what I am today. He’s a great example for all of us.”

FINAL OBSTACLE: Southern Regional junior Grace Fessler heads for the finish line of the 400-meter hurdles event at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions on June 15.

As for the rest of Southern’s contingent at the Meet of Champions, there weren’t many. An illness kept senior Mia Mastrogiovanni from competing, unfortunately forcing coach Brian Zatorski to scratch the 4×800-meter relay team from the competition.

However, one member of the relay, junior Grace Fessler, also managed to gain a wildcard spot for the 400-meter hurdles. Fessler ran in the second-to-last heat and had a solid race, clearing each hurdle without incident, but she clearly was hampered by a lingering quadricep injury, ultimately finishing 12th overall in 1:05.36, just under four seconds off the pace of champion Aaliyah Murphy of Morristown.

“I was happy to make it farther than I did last year,” she said. “Next year, the goal will be to place. I’m going to work harder and try not to get injured. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t run our 4×800, but we had a great season. I love my relay team. We all had the same goal; we just ran as fast as we could and got through everything together. We realized in the winter we had something special, and we just kept getting better. We were hoping to place today, but illnesses and injuries sometimes get in the way. The good part is three of our four runners will be back, so we should be competitive again next year.”

— David Biggy

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