St. Joseph Catholic School student Roury McCloyen is coming home to Greenville a national champion.
McCloyen won the men’s shot put for his first ever Junior Olympic title on Wednesday at the USATF National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
In what was one of the most exciting competitions of the entire meet, McCloyen (Greenville Track Club/USATF Southern) defeated hammer throw champion Michael Pinkney (Eclipse Track Club/USATF New York) for the men's 17-18 shot put title.
The two men were the class of the field throughout, finding themselves in first and second after the first round and changing leads throughout each of the first three throws.
On his third attempt, McCloyen uncorked a superb 19.16m/62-10 toss to take the lead and would not relinquish it through the remainder of the competition - though Pinkney made it tantalizingly close with his 19.01m/62-04 toss in the sixth and final round. They would finish a dominant first and second, with third place nearly two meters behind.
“This victory was emotional and a blessing,” McCloyen texted while on a plane back home to Mississippi. “The key to winning was being consistent and staying out of my own head.”
McCloyen added that the battle he had against runner-up finisher Pickney helped him reach down deep.
“It was the best competition I ever had and going against a college commit made it more fun,” he wrote.
The victory was just another triumph for McCloyen this year. In April, McCloyen’s discus throw of 189 feet and two inches broke the old MAIS record by more than 10 feet and was only nine inches short of the record for all Mississippi high schools, public or private.
McCloyen has been throwing both the shot put and the discus since he was in the seventh grade. Over the past five years, he has learned how to fine tune his technique for optimum distance.
McCloyen is already receiving interest to throw at the high Division 1 level in two years. Schools like Ole Miss and Mississippi State have showed particular interest.
Along with St. Joseph track coach John Baker, McCloyen credits Coach Monica Turner and Coach Kenneth Kable for helping him reach his potential.
And, while he looks forward to breaking more records in the future, McCloyen said he is now looking forward to helping his St. Joseph Fighting Irish on the football field.
“It’s now time to get ready for them Friday night lights.”
