Stepping up to the ring, he raises his arm which holds the shot. He steps, beginning to turn; following through with his upper body and hips. He launches the shot, it soars out into the sector. Senior Matt Hopkins is a star athlete for the spartan throwing team. He maintains a reputation as one of the strongest students in the weights room, holding several highest weight records. However, where Hopkins shines best is on shotput. 

“I have the shot put record with just under 53 feet or 16.11 meters. I have the deadlift right now. I did 600 [pounds] on the trap bar. And then I have the squat with a 535 [pounds] that I did, and I had the clean (a clean is a different style of lift) until Gus Barron came and broke that,” Hopkins said.

Holding school records can often be an inspiration to other students. It can drive them to work harder than they may under normal circumstances. They have someone to watch and take notes on to perform better themselves. But, to utilize this properly, it’s important that the student is very sociable. Senior Cooper Rowse, another member of the throwing team, has found Hopkins’ personality helpful in her time on the team. 

“He’s a good captain. He’s friendly. He always supports everybody on the team. Always tries to help whenever he can. He’s a good teammate,” Rowse said. “He helps me become a better thrower because he pushes me when we’re in the weight room or [throwing], he’ll always tell me [to] go harder in the weight room, go harder with shot, go harder with disc.”

But in order to gain records, one needs more than friendliness and encouragement. Jasmine Boyer, the throwing coach, appreciates the trait Hopkins has that gives him such high potential.

“Matt’s success starts with him. He’s a talented young man, but more importantly, he’s driven to be the best he can be. That mindset is the biggest reason he’s reached the level he has,” Boyer Said.

With drive he is able to grow in ways many other students don’t. It gives him the ability to continuously improve by being consistent. He can do hard things even when he may not feel like it, and he wants to do hard things. Hopkins utilizes this mindset to perform a diverse training regimen, growing in all aspects. 

“My go-to for throwing is push press. Bench press is important too. That upper-body strength was something that I actually always lacked. And I’ve been working on it really hard,” Hopkins said. “Squats are important. People neglect squats so much because they’re not fun. And footwork drills. I feel like I neglected those a lot when I was starting off. And I ended up having to play catch-up junior year a lot.”

But, as many have seen, he’s grown tremendously between his freshman and senior years. In sectional rankings, he has placed first and has qualified for state. This growth has attracted the attention of many schools, Hopkins said, but there are other great things he’s gained from the throwing team.

“I just signed to Lindsay Wilson University. It’s over in Kentucky; it’s paying for almost my whole tuition. It’s huge for me because we didn’t really have a means to do that. That’s the biggest impact [throwing] had on my life,” Hopkins said. “Along with the friends I’ve made, a lot of my best friends were people that I threw with.”