Freshman Klaire Kovatch throws discus at Frenchtown earlier in the season. Kovatch broke the Seeley-Swan High School record on May 5 at the Kim L. Haines Invitational with a throw of 130 feet 5 inches.
MISSOULA - Seeley-Swan's Klaire Kovatch has been aiming to break the school discus record all season. Her efforts paid off at the Kim L. Haines Invitational track meet May 5 with a throw of 130 feet 5 inches. She broke the previous record of 127 feet 7 inches set by Shyanne Feucht in 2007.
Anticipation that the freshman thrower could break the school record has been high all season. Kovatch's Seeley Lake Elementary record of 123 feet 7 inches was just 4 feet short of the high school record.
Kovatch started this season right where she had left off throwing 123 feet 6 inches at the first meet March 24 and began inching closer to the record throwing 123 feet 11.5 inches and 124 feet 7 inches at the next two meets. By mid season though, she seemed to be struggling, falling short of even the 120 feet mark. Kovatch explained that she was working on some new techniques and it involved a lot more thinking instead of relying on muscle memory.
"We were focusing on getting me out the back of the ring quicker and just driving off that left foot faster," said Kovatch. "As soon as we started to get that to click, now I'm hitting 130s."
"We knew I could get [the record] if I really got my technique down," said Kovatch. "It is really fun to see it go that far and it's also gratifying to finally see something like that work."
Her record-breaking throw also shows that she is in the running for the top spot at the Class C state meet. She has thrown farther than last year's state champion, Jessica Thompson from Plains, twice now this season.
Kovatch's new goal is to get up to the 135 foot mark at the district and divisional meets and hopes to peak this season at state.
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