* Bishop Hendricken's John Fay finished his outdoor season with a RIIL Outdoor State Championship and a national title at The Outdoor Nationals
Photo Credit: K. Manning/Rhode Island MileSplit
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John Fay didn't have many opportunities in 2021, until he did.
And yet, the Bishop Hendricken (RI) High School senior sure made the most of them.
In many ways, you couldn't have predicted a better story in the field than Fay over the last month, as the University of Virginia signee racked up four major wins in the hammer throw, including victories at the Division and Class A levels in Rhode Island, before securing the two best performances of his high school career over the last two weeks.
On June 26, Fay upset Woonsocket's Logan Coles -- who was ranked U.S. No. 1 in the hammer throw through June -- at the Rhode Island State Championships with a mark of 228 feet, 9 inches.
Then on Wednesday he did one better, posting an overall career best mark of 236 feet, 10 inches at The Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon.
That performances gave Fay a new US No. 1 mark and ranks No. 15 all-time in the hammer database on MileSplit.
But wild enough, it came nearly a month to the day since his first outdoor competition on May 29.
While Fay never quite got enough opportunities to throw outdoors -- he missed his entire 2019 season due to a back injury and only competed once officially in 2020 -- he did show an excellent ability over his indoor campaigns.
"Undaunted, he surpassed the 200-foot barrier this summer," Fay's coach said during a signing ceremony in December.
He finished the 2021 indoor season ranked US No. 4 in the weight at 74 feet, 9.5 inches. That performance followed his junior best of 69-3.75 (US No. 17) and a sophomore mark of 58-11.5 (US No. 74).
While Fay is a specific kind of thrower -- he only threw the weight indoors and the hammer outdoors -- he signed with Virginia in December, as he showed enough potential to the Cavaliers staff to land him on a NCAA Division I roster.