ALLEN PARK – Happy birthday, Teegan.
Monroe High senior Teegan Simmons woke up Sunday to a special greeting on his birthday.
Joel Reed, who coaches the shot-put and discus throwers for Monroe’s track and field team, was calling with good news.
The discus throw of 179 feet that Simmons uncorked Saturday during the Allen Park Relays had been confirmed as a school and Monroe County record.
“I was up all night trying to make sure this would work,” Reed said.
Reed and Simmons knew the throw was legitimate.
It took a while for meet officials to agree.
“I kept checking the live results site all night yesterday and this morning, but they didn’t have the discus,” Simmons said.
Reed speculates that persistent rain during the meet Saturday made it difficult to read the results.
Finally, the coach was just as persistent as the rain and helped get the results declared as official.
Simmons’ throw eclipses the Region record of 177-1 set by Matt Foor of Airport last season and tops the school record of 176-2 that Ralph Neal established in 1995.
His previous best in high school competition had been just over 171, but he had thrown 174-0 with his club team during the summer.
“It’s the furthest in the state this year by 10 feet,” Reed said.
Simmons immediately knew the toss was special.
“I knew it felt good,” he said. “When I released it, I felt good power, but I didn’t think it would go that far.
“After I finished my reverse, I watched it fly through the air. I love the way the disc flies.”
When the discus landed, Simmons started celebrating.
“I knew it was good, but I didn’t know how good,” Reed said. “When he saw it was over 170, he started jumping up and done saying, ‘That’s a school and county record.’”
“I looked at the tape measure and just knew it,” Simmons added.
Simmons said he has been chasing this record since his freshman year.
“I was so happy to finally do it,” he said.
Simmons knows the two throwers whose records he broke.
Neal has helped him with training and he has competed against Foor many times. There have been some great throwing contests in recent years featuring Simmons, Foor, Alex Mansfield of Jefferson and Gibraltar Carlson’s Ben Przytula.
“I’ve had a lot of fun throwing against them all,” Simmons said. “It’s been good competition. We’ve connected as friends and we respect each other.”
Saturday’s rain did not bother Simmons at all.
“This is the second time I’ve had a PR in the rain,” he said.
Even Simmons admits that rain is not good for throwers.
“It gets nerve wracking, especially when the disc slips out of your hand” he said.
So how does he account for his best throws coming in the rain?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I just seem to get a better grip in the rain.”
Part of Simmons’ birthday plan was to tell Foor that he had broken his record.
“I was about to text him,” Simmons said Sunday. “I saw him at the gym (recently) and he asked me if I was going to break his record. I told him ...
