Landing his way to the top: Tioga’s Hayden Christman ranks #1 in state & #3 in nation for discus

BALL, La. (KALB) - Tioga’s Hayden Christman is known to be a force in the trenches, as he will soon make his debut in Louisiana Tech jersey, but it does not stop there.

The 6′7 athlete also throws discus for the Indians.

Just last week he became the No. 3 thrower in the nation along with securing a spot at the top of the rankings in the state.

“It is crazy to think about, it is normally the track throwers and people going to college for track,” said Christman. “It is just crazy to be up there with them.”

Last year, Christman stepped on the platform and won the 4A State Championship in discus.

“I was first in discus, and I threw at 173 feet with my personal record last year,” said Christman. “I threw at Zachary last meet, I beat it with my first throw, beat it with my second and third throw. I threw 183, and it was just crazy.”

“There were so many elite schools that were there, and for him to not only break the stadium record, not only win the disc, but be the number one thrower in the state and number three in the nation it is pretty cool,” said Indians Head Coach and Hayden’s dad, Dan Christman. “It was a cool situation.”

It takes a lot to become a champion, but it takes even more mental strength and stability to stay at the top, and as a coach’s son, the standards are sky-high.

“I have to fuss at him sometimes, but other than that, it has been fun through football through recruiting in football and now this,” said Dan Christman. “It has just been an honor.”

“When you are held to high standards, you want your teammates to be better, you want everybody to be better and he shows why he is here,” said Hayden’s teammate Bradley Riccardi. “He shows everyone what a good role model is.”

Looking at the sports world, football and track are very different, but the mindset stays the same. As a veteran, Hayden has become the big man on the track.

“When you are throwing, you still have to get mad at the discus and mad at the shotput when you throw it out there,” said Christman. “A bunch of the younger guys, I help them learn the technique and how to throw it and just getting their mind right really, can’t be distracted throwing this because you can really get off of what you are trying to do.”

Christman said the job isn’t finished yet, as he is aiming to go back-to-back as a state champion and hit his goal of throwing the discus 190 feet.

For his desire to continue to reach his goals, Hayden Christman is this week’s ACA Athlete of the Week.

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