Discus thrower Hannah Chappell of Oakdale is Track and Field Athlete of Year

Hannah Chappell has enjoyed the competition over the years in everything from softball to volleyball to soccer.

But nothing compares to walking into the ring and launching the disc toward the clouds.

“I like the feeling of having it all up to you,” she says. “All your training and practice goes down to how far you throw. I like that.”

The Oakdale High School junior already will go down as one of the best ever in her event in the Stanislaus District. It’s hard to argue, with three Sac-Joaquin Section Masters championships and three trips to the State Meet.

She’s placed seventh, second and – last week – fifth at state. That’s two medals in three journeys to the nation’s most prestigious high school track and field meet.

But there’s something else you need to know about the 5-foot-5 Chappell, who almost always responds to the siren song of competition: She wants the state title. And she has one more shot.

“It (a state title) is very realistic,” she said.

This is the ultimate goal for Chappell, who has repeated as The Bee’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

On the surface, Chappell appeared to take a step back this season. After a runner-up finish behind Stamatia Scarvelis (UCLA freshman) in 2014, she fell back to fifth behind winner Ronna Stone of Valley Christian-San Jose. Stone, her win already assured, finished the competition with a toss of 161 feet, 9 inches, comfortably ahead of Chappell’s 148-3.

A closer view, however, is required. Chappell, who stabilized after an uncomfortable warmup, sat in fourth place after four rounds. More important, she trailed Stone by only 7 feet with two rounds left. She stood only a career throw away from a championship.

Then, on her final attempt, Chappell caromed it off the protective cage for a foul. But nearby, Modesto Junior College throws coach Bob MacKay muttered, “That was the one.”

Said Chappell later, “That was the one.”

Funny how an apparent failure actually could become a breakthrough. The discus mandates speed and precise physical mechanics. Chappell, who has worked with three-time discus Olympian Suzy Powell and recently with MacKay, felt it all come together. All that was missing was the timing on release.

“The mechanics was what I was working on the last two weeks. It was what I was aiming for,” she said. “That throw was not perfect, but it felt so good. I had so much power on it. I didn’t know what to do with all that power.”

She said it had an even better feel than her career-best 151-2, despite a negative tailwind, the week before at Masters. She is encouraged as she enters summertime meets.

“There’s room to improve, but my average throws have gone up every year,” she said. “To me, that’s a great accomplishment. Going back (to state) is the best part.”

Brett Chappell, Hannah’s father and coach, believes a year’s worth of serious physical training will make the difference. Moments after the discus finals, he said, “All we need is 10 more feet.”

Hannah, like Powell, spots most of her opponents’ size and power. She covers with her long arms and competitive zeal.

“Being the shortest one out there, the things that other athletes can get away with, I can’t,” she said. “Now that I’ve narrowed down the mechanics I need to work on, I’ve got a lot of conditioning and a lot of training to do. That last throw ... that was the one that could get me there.”

This story was originally published June 14, 2015 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Discus thrower Hannah Chappell of Oakdale is Track and Field Athlete of Year."