After a disappointing end to his junior track and field high school season, an attitude adjustment was in order for thrower Drew Franklin.
“Honestly, my biggest improvement has been my attitude toward the sport, as before I wasn’t taking it seriously enough,” the Carmel High School senior said. “As soon as I started to put in the real work, I started seeing real results.”
Franklin finished 10th in the discus in the Carmel Sectional with a throw of 127 feet, 11 inches. He was fourth in the shot put in the sectional. He qualified for the regional but then placed 10th in the Lafayette Jefferson Regional meet.
“My sectional meet was a huge disappointment as it meant the end of my school season, and I was not happy with myself and how I performed,” he said. “We all have bad meets, and mine happened to be during a crucial one.”
Franklin rebounded to place third with a toss of 177 feet, 8 inches in the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships in late July in Sacramento. He qualified for the national meet in the shot put and discus at the state and regional meet. He won the discus at the regional. He placed 21st in the shot put at the national meet.
“Focusing on the lifts and dialing in on proper technique cues throughout the throw, also focusing on explosiveness, was a huge part of my success,” Franklin said.
Prior to the summer, Franklin’s best discus toss was 161-1. His throw of 177-8 was farther than the IHSAA state championship winning distance of 169-5 in 2022. Franklin has set his sights on winning a state title in the spring, his father Andrew Franklin said.
Franklin, who has been throwing since sixth grade, was introduced to the event by his older sister, Alyse. A 2021 CHS graduate, Alyse competed in shot put and discus throughout middle school and high school. She was introduced to it by a neighbor, Jeff Carter, who was the Clay Middle School coach.
“Then being a little brother, Drew had to beat her at it, so he started throwing when he went to middle school,” Andrew Franklin said.
Alyse is on the Indiana University rowing team. She earned a partial scholarship for this season.
