#10 - Monique Hardy Finds Her Overall State Record
For most field events, Records can be chased Indoors and Out. Seasons compound training, and you are consistently improving year-over-year. For the Weight Throw, without a significant equivalent Outdoors, it can be hard chasing down Records after a reset every year. Don't tell that to Monique Hardy (Webster Thomas) though. That Record came home early.
For three years now, Hardy had been chipping away at the All-Time list in the Weight Throw, an event only recently added to the Indoor State Meet. As she moved up the list, both in age and in distance, she began to take the eraser to the Record Board. As a Sophomore, she broke the Soph State Record with a toss at the Section 5 State Qualifier, nailing 56-1.25. A year later, at Indoor Nationals, she knocked out an impressive Junior State Record at 64-7.25, just shy of the Junior National Record. That left only one record still out of reach. The Overall (and Senior) State Record held by Jillian Shippee (Shenendehowa) set back in 2018.
The Season started off simple. Four meets in a row, all located in her home Section of Rochester, saw Hardy hitting right around 55-feet. Considered rust-busters in the month of December, it allowed Hardy to get her feet back under her after a Fall Off-Season of training and hitting the Weight Room. The Record was on her mind, and her turn cycle and release angle were key focuses in her quest to improve. Heading out to Buffalo the second weekend of January, Hardy was put into her first Invitational environment of the Season, a place where she thrives. The Throwers-Only Rock N' Roll Throw Off is long home to many impressive tosses in State History, and it was there Hardy unleashed a winning toss of 62-9.75. It was the earliest in a season that Hardy had broken the 60-foot Barrier, two weeks ahead of schedule from the previous year. It indicated big throws were coming.
Two weeks after Rock N' Roll, it was back home to Rochester for the biggest Upstate Invite of the Season, The Trent Jackson/Cedric Walker Memorial Invite. Once again, feeding off the energy of the big competition, Hardy unleashed another major toss, improving her Season Best to 63-0. It was the perfect setup for the biggest competition on the horizon: The Millrose Games.
The #10 Moment of the Year almost didn't happen. The Millrose Games, held in New York City, happened to occur during one of the biggest snowstorms of the Season. Rochester to NYC is not exactly the easiest journey in the best of conditions. Luckily, the Hammer Throw is contested two days prior to the full schedule, allowing Weight Throwers to have their own day. That choice might have saved the day. Hardy, now against her biggest competition of the year, US #2 and 2019 National Runner-Up Cheyenne Figueroa (Classical, RI), would need a big throw to separate from the best field of the year. Little did she know how early it would come.
On Hardy's first attempt, the implement slipped from her hands. Going for broke pushed the rotation off balance. With only two more chances to solidify a spot in the finals, Hardy would need a perfect mix of power, and reserve to make the throw legal. Consider that last part the key. On Hardy's second toss, she unleashed a monster throw, knowing the distance was special as it bounced off the ground in the throwing cage. The measurement came out, and the official read off - "66-11.25."
The mark was the second furthest throw in the Nation's history, and broke the State Record by a foot and a half. Not only that, but it was also the earliest in the Season Hardy had ever taken down a State Record, meaning there was plenty left in the tank for future meets.
Unfortunately, that culmination wouldn't come. Hardy would go on undefeated the rest of the year, capped off with her third best ever career throw to win the State Title. But her National Title defense, and chase of that National Record of 68-2.5, were not to be in the age of COVID.