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Olivia Mottern wins district gold in 1st year throwing


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For most athletes, trying a new sport as a senior is a ‘just for fun’ experience.

But Southern Fulton’s Olivia Mottern is not most athletes - she is seeing gold.

Mottern won the girls javelin throw at the District 5 track & field championships after just two months of training.

“It’s been crazy,” Mottern said. “All the hours of practices, and I’ve really had to try really hard just learning everything basically from scratch, so in two months I think I’ve made a lot of headway with it.”

Her throw of 114-4 on her second toss of prelims beat the next top thrower by more than 10 feet.

It was her all-time best throw of her career came with no-so-great weather. Despite the blue sky and warm temperatures, the wind at Northern Bedford on Wednesday afternoon made the javelin throw a difficult event.

“On the second throw, I actually had to wait for the wind to slow down a little bit,” Mottern said. “Those gusts can really mess you up, so it was surprising to get my PR. I’m really excited and blessed to have this kind of opportunity. It’s all been a blur, but I’m enjoying it.”

The Indians swept the javelin with Mottern’s dominant finish, and Timothy Wright’s winning throw of 167-05.

“It was a crosswind, so every time I threw it up, the wind would take it to the side or drop it down,” Wright said. “I threw it a little to the left after looking at the wind and the flats. I was hoping for a better throw today, but I get to throw again next week.”

MORE: Varner's District 5 dramatics earn him 3 golds

OTHER RESULTS: McConnellsburg's McKenzie Gelvin claimed a pair of gold medals in the 400 (58.32) and 800 (2:24.10).

Fannett-Metal's Lizzie Peppernick won the girls discus with a throw of 111-02, nearly 20 feet farther than the rest of the competition. Peppernick also placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 30-07.50.

Hailey Dodson of McConnellsburg won the shot put with a final throw of 33-01.25. She also placed second in the discus with a throw of 92-09. Morgan Ashley, also of McConnellsburg, placed fifth in the discus with a heave of 85-01.

Niki McNemar of McConnellsburg tied for third in the girls high jump, clearing 5-00, while Gordon placed fifth her best jump of the year at 4-10.

The Southern Fulton girls 4x400 relay team composed of Morgan Fitz, Lydia Hiller, Drew Gordon and Mary Dudich, placed second with a time of 4:22.05.