Tsu named field athlete of meet at O.C. Championships

A week ago, Kyle Tsu was trying to replicate a feat that he had done only once before.

He conquered the quest to return to the exclusive club of the 60-foot shot putters, reeling in a big invitational title at the Mt. SAC Relays.

The Marina High senior is getting more comfortable in the throwing ring, and at least for now, those marks are coming with ease.

Tsu was named the field athlete of the meet of the Orange County Championships after winning the shot put with a lifetime best of 62 feet, 8 inches at Mission Viejo High on Saturday.

Since a season-worst showing of 55 feet, 7 ½ inches in the Arcadia Invitational, Tsu has improved upon his previous performance in three consecutive meets.

“I just feel really good because now, I’m on a roll,” Tsu said. “Last week, I took Mt. SAC. I’m just glad that the momentum is carrying over.”

It was the nerves that were considered the problem as he reached the national-level meet. He fouled on two of his first three throws before winning the Mt. SAC Relays invitational heat with his last throw.

On Saturday, Tsu took a precaution to make the nerves a non-factor. He resorted to a standing throw on his first attempt, and pure strength alone allowed him to produce an effort of 57 feet.

A surefire finals qualifier at that point, Tsu returned to the spinning technique to add speed to his motion. He pumped out four 60-foot heaves over his next five throws.

He has been able to adapt to spinning better, and a subplot may be the temporary closure of Marina’s weight room for repairs. Tsu has not been lifting as much in the past two weeks, and it may have helped with the healing process for the tendinosis in his wrist.

“I’m building up speed out of the back, so right now, my coach (Mike Giron) and I agree that there is no end in sight for now,” Tsu said of his improvement.

The Vikings thrower said that he now believes that he can contend for a state title. Clovis Buchanan’s Jacob Wilson is the state leader at 66 feet, 1 inch.

“At the beginning of the year, I never thought that I would be the man that I am right now,” Tsu added. “Since I’ve gone on and started hitting bigger marks on a consistent basis, I feel like I have a really good chance.”

Corona del Mar’s Mason Crane surprised the field in the discus, winning the competition with a personal-best mark of 168-7.

He beat three other locals in Newport Harbor’s Cole Smith (second), Tsu (third), and Marina’s Jake Arnold (fifth), all of which topped 160 feet.

Crane had uncorked a 164-foot throw earlier in the competition, but he stunned the field, and himself, with his new personal record on his final throw.

Only Smith had a chance to respond to the meet’s new leading mark, and Crane said he was sweating it out.

“He’s a really far thrower,” Crane said of Smith. “He throws 170- or 180-foot throws sometimes. That’s when I was really stressing. In the end, it all worked out really well.”

None were able to challenge the area’s fearsome four in boys’ pole vault, although they were short by one with Newport Harbor’s Ryan Fegan (hamstring) out of the action.

Edison’s Michael Chadwick and Marina’s Michael Magula made it over the bar at 15 feet, 8 inches, but Chadwick took home the county title because he made the decisive height on his first attempt.

The Chargers senior said that making a new height on the first try plays into the psychology of the competition.

“I felt solid on that,” Chadwick said of clearing 15-8 immediately. “I like to pressure the other guys to do better.

“I want to try to bring the best out of people and see how high they can go with me.”

Disappointment struck those on the track, especially in the hurdles. Fountain Valley’s Nathan Willoughby is becoming a tragic hero after suffering another late fall in the 300-meter hurdles.

The Barons senior had cleared the last hurdle, and he had a couple steps on Los Alamitos’ Jose Rubio when he tripped over his own feet just before the finish line. His momentum carried him over the line, where he pounded his fist into the ground after seeing Rubio come away with the win in 38.08 seconds.

Willoughby had been on his way to a sub-38-second time and a win over the third-ranked hurdler in the state. He finished third in 38.44.

Edison’s Amanda Herrington was one of two Orange County girls to have run the 100 hurdles in under 15 seconds, but the showdown with Santa Margarita’s Nikki Merritt never materialized after Herrington was eliminated on a false start.

Tsu, Arnold, and Magula spearheaded Marina’s boys to a seventh-place finish with 33 points.

Fountain Valley took eighth with 31 points. The Barons’ 400 relay team of Jake Garrett, Kishaun Sykes, Donnie Marion, and Willoughby took fourth (42.48). They were less than a second off the pace in a race that broke the meet record.

David Straw (high jump) and Thomas Do (triple jump) each delivered runner-up showings for the Barons.

Corona del Mar’s Leif Hellgren took fifth in the boys’ 1,600 seeded heat in 4:21.

Costa Mesa’s Felicia and Tayla Crenshaw delivered top-five performances in the shot put and discus.

Los Alamitos’ Faimalie Sale, who swept the girls’ throws, upset Felicia Crenshaw by two inches in the discus at 148-2.

CdM’s Amanda Cooper was fourth in the discus (123-9).

Andrew.Turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner