Two years into his high school career, Jackson Cantwell is the most decorated track and field athlete in the history of Nixa High School.
The sophomore won the MSHSAA Class 5 shot put and discus championship last weekend in Jefferson City.
He repeated as a champion in the shot put - the first to do so in the Class 5 system for MSHSAA since it expanded in 2015.
Nixa has only two two-time champions: Seth Isringhausen in the pole vault in 1998-99 and Bob Curl in the 180-yard low hurdles in 1967-68. Now, Cantwell had three.
Cantwell is the first thrower in MSHSAA's largest classification to win back-to-back shot put titles since Brook Mosier of Lee's Summit West won in 2007-2009.
He threw 21.92 meters/71 feet, 11 inches to win the title. Every one of his five throws that counted would've given him the title on Saturday. Teammate Hayden Mays was the runner-up with a throw of 17.21
Cantwell broke the Class 5 record - he set last year at 19.06 meters last year - and the overall MSHAA record. That belonged to a fellow Central Ozark Conference thrower - Willard's Marshall Swadley's mark of 20.41 meters in 2021.
On Friday, he locked up his first discus title with a throw of 61.96 meters/203-3 - coming on his third throw.
That ended up being good enough to win as he fouled on all three attempts in the finals.
"I credit Hayden a little bit for getting me started," Cantwell said. "He had a 56 (foot throw); he brings the energy for sure. He gave me a little bit of juice there. And he started driving out and really putting it out there but I knew the third one was pretty good."
Cantwell said he had a throw during warmups that would've been No. 1 in the country. He said he struggled with the discus in district and sectional but made an adjustment to how he was holding the disc.
"It's been going wrong a lot ... I've had a lot of issues at district and sectional conference with it," Cantwell said. "So it felt good to finally have a good meet."