* Trey Knight at The Simplot Games in 2020
Photo Credit: Josh Ornelas/MileSplit Utah
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If there were a prize awarded to the most casual reaction to a national record-breaking throw in track and field, Trey Knight would absolutely own that competition.
On Saturday, the Ridgefield (WA) High School graduate and University of Southern California signee achieved a feat he had been reaching for since entering high school in Washington state: Breaking Rudy Winkler's national hammer throw record in the 12-pound implement, a mark of 260 feet, 5 inches.
He did just that in a small competition held in Portland, Oregon, achieving a throw of 261 feet, 7 inches.
And ...he barely ... even ...reacted.
But Knight had to have known his throw was out there, for a lot of reasons.
Because it came off his hands so perfectly. Or because his rotations were so damn fast. Or maybe, because it just felt like a good throw.
His effort was so booming that each time he spun on the concrete oval, the rubber in his shoe crashed to the ground in emphatic THWAP THWAP THWAPs.
But maybe Knight, who has been dominating in the throws since his freshman season -- and owns freshman and sophomore national class records in the indoor weight throw -- just isn't the type to get rowdy.
No matter. He left the competition on Saturday with a new national record and a PR by over six feet, surpassing his own best mark of 256-6, which he achieved as a junior and previous to the weekend was fifth all-time on the overall national throws chart. Winkler, an Olympian in 2016, achieved his former national best mark in 2013.
His national record effort reportedly came on his fifth attempt.
Knight also owns the sixth-farthest attempt by a high school athlete with the international weight (16 lb), with a mark of 213-9.
While Knight have as many top 10 marks on the all-time list that Winkler and Conor McCullough achieved across their timelines, he wasn't far behind.
Here are the top 5 12-pound marks of his career:
| rank | throw | date | year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 261-7 | June 27 | 2020 |
| 2 | 256-6 | 2019 | |
| 3 | 254-0.5 | April 6 | 2019 |
| 4 | 253-5 | May 4 | 2019 |
| 5 | 250-5 | May 26 | 2019 |
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