The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.

The throws keep on getting better for College of San Mateo freshman Kelly Young.

The 2007 Capuchino High graduate established personal-bests on her first two throws in the hammer Thursday at the Bob Rush Invitational at CSM. Young threw 137 feet, 10 inches on her first try before going 139-7 on her second attempt. The mark ranks second in the state and sixth in the nation. Young also ranks third nationally in the javelin, 19th in the shot put and 35th in the discus.

The goal of every athlete is to improve, but what Young is doing borders on the ridiculous. Young basically establishes a personal record in at least one event in every meet. Experience-wise, Young, 19, is basically a novice at this track and field deal. She’s been competing for less than two years; last year she threw the shot and discus at Capuchino (the hammer and javelin events do not exist for girls at the state high school level).

She finished third in the shot put at the Peninsula Athletic League Meet, but didn’t place in the top 10 in the discus. Young only tried out for the track and field team because she wanted to do something different in her senior year.

With the urging from her best friend, Carmen Duran, Young decided to give it a go despite having no idea on what events she wanted to compete in. But the decision set in motion a change of events that has Young among the nation’s best throwers, and perhaps on the fast track towards a Division I scholarship.

“I never thought I’d be doing this well,” she said. “It wasn’t like I was planning on a career in this thing. But I’ve grown more confident and I can’t be any happier.”

Under the tutelage of CSM’s renowned throws coach Mike Lewis, Young continues to soar to newfound heights. Lewis said Young is the complete package, a hard-working natural talent with an ability to process information and immediately put it into her physical repertoire. At 5-foot-10, Young has the perfect frame to excel.

“She can turn, land, cross, drive and be balanced every time on her throws,” Lewis said. “She picks up the mechanics really quickly and is able to identify things that I see in her that need to be corrected. Because she’s tall, she’s got longer angles and is able to hold her balance really well, and that all contributes to what she’s been able to accomplish.”

Sports are the world in which Young’s life revolves around. She played four years of varsity soccer and volleyball at Capuchino, and one year of varsity softball. Her love for sports developed at an early age, so much so that she compares herself to a guy.

“I’m addicted to sports,” she said. “It’s my life and who I am. I couldn’t live without sports. I was a major tomboy growing up. There was that time from kindergarten through third grade when I would only wear dresses to school. After that, you’d be dead lucky to get me in a dress.”

Young knows a lesson or two about overcoming adversity. She didn’t learn to read until she was in the fourth grade. Young said it was a case of teachers passing her without them knowing she wasn’t picking things up as fast as the rest of her peers. Time went on and Young’s problem grew worse.

“I was really embarrassed,” she said. “I didn’t tell my parents or say anything to my friends. I didn’t know what to do so when it got to the point of a teacher asking me to read a passage in class, I would make an excuse to use the bathroom to hide my lack of ability of being able to read.”

Once Young learned how to read, she devoured books in bloodthirsty fashion. Now she has a tough time putting a book down. No doubt the struggles she faced academically at an early age strengthened Young’s resolve. When Young is about to make a throw, she has to remind herself to relax. She gets so excited sometimes, and who could blame her? Every time she launches an object, a PR is well within reach.

Hard wall

Playing right field at Skyline College can be a painful experience. With the afternoon sun glaring straight down in that direction and swirling winds that are constant almost everyday, the Trojans should erect a beware sign, because playing right field can be a dangerous proposition. Cañada’s Ben Edelstein found this out the hard way.

In the second inning of Thursday’s game, Edelstein ran into the wall hard chasing a fly ball. The result was a sickening thud that could be heard in the press box even with the windows closed. Edelstein was hurt on the play but managed to play a couple of more innings before being replaced by Brian Marblestone, who had his own painful crash into the wall later in the game. Skyline hit four balls off the right-field fence, with Edelstein and Marblestone hitting the wall twice each.