Daily Pilot Male Athlete of the Week: Tsu building on Marina’s recent throws success

By the numbers, it should have been considered a no-brainer that Marina High track and field would be a force in the throwing events this year.

At last year’s Orange County Championships, the Vikings boasted two of the top five performers in boys’ shot put.

All lived in the shadow of 70-foot thrower Bronson Osborn, then a junior at Anaheim Esperanza. Osborn would be named the Orange County athlete of the year after winning dual state championships in the shot put and discus.

Nevertheless, the Vikings had strength in numbers, and when Osborn’s senior season was wiped out by a weight-lifting accident, it supplied an opportunity for another to step into the spotlight.

Marina senior Jake Arnold, a state finalist in the shot put, might have been the favorite for county glory at that point, but a foot injury of his own forced him to miss the first month of the season.

The Vikings’ other hope was Kyle Tsu, a raw but strong talent with an unmatched standing throw. Tsu admitted that he had been lazy with his technique during his junior year, however, and minimal progress had been made during the offseason.

After sporadic training sessions over the previous two seasons, Mike Giron became the Vikings’ full-time throws coach this year. He set lofty goals for Tsu, telling him that he would go to state. In order to do so, something had to change.

Behind his brute strength, Tsu had been able to get by on stand-still throws. If he wanted to get to the next level, he had to put the work in to become a spinner.

“When we were talking about converting him to a spinner, I told him, ‘Hey, it’s hard,’” Giron said. “Spinning is a little more difficult in terms of the glide because you need a lot more practice to develop that consistency.

“Early in January, he was having some struggles. Every person that does that switch to the spin has some struggles. We went to that winter qualifier at Laguna Beach. He had a horrible, ugly spin, but he came up in a great position, and he almost hit a new (personal record).

“At that moment, he turned around and said, ‘Coach, I’m a spinner now.’”

Frankly, Tsu did not believe that it was his destiny to become an elite thrower. He was perhaps more committed to football, despite the team managing just two wins from his freshman to junior year.

His senior season began with Marina’s football team starting the season on a three-game winning streak, which included a 24-20 victory over Westminster in the first annual “Battle at Boswell.”

Upon the unanticipated development, Tsu figured it was going to be a good senior year. Little did he know what would be in store for him during the track and field season.

Following Arnold’s injury, Tsu said he felt an obligation to step up in his absence.

“I couldn’t let Jake have a good season and then just have Marina flop after that,” Tsu said. “I just really wanted to make sure that I kept Marina in good name and make sure that we were still one of the top throwing schools in the state.”

Tsu’s mission allowed him to realize his potential, something that happened only after he found out that others were keeping an eye on him. The UC Irvine signee was amused by the recruiting process.

“I didn’t realize that I had a future in throwing up until the point that I started receiving college letters,” he said. “I was getting one every month from random schools.

“Then I started getting a couple ones a week. Then, UC Berkeley gave me a letter, and I was like, ‘Okay, it just got real.’

“UCI offered me to visit not too long after that. Then I realized that throwing was going to be my future over football.”

The senior posted invitational shot put wins at the Jim Arquilla Long Beach Relays, the Beach Cities Invitational, the Mt. SAC Relays, and the Orange County Championships.

This season has not been without incident, however. His postseason was marred by struggles in the discus. He was eliminated in the event at the CIF Southern Section Finals, but he has not let disappointment in one event affect his performance in the other.

Tsu gains inspiration from his mom, Frances. She serves as a reason why he continues to work hard to make his first state meet. She fled Vietnam in 1975 when it fell under communist rule, beginning a new life in the United States in her early teens.

“My mom…her story is pretty cool,” he said. “She got here, she graduated high school and worked her way up to a degree. She made our family a living and made sure that our family stayed healthy. She’s my motivation.

“To come from knowing no English to sustaining a full family, it’s just really impressive for me. I have no excuse to stop because she didn’t.”

Tsu has not stopped since winning at the Mt. SAC Relays. He has surpassed the 60-foot mark in each of his last five competitions.

On Saturday, Tsu had the No. 1 overall throw at the CIF-SS Finals, winning the Division 2 shot put title with a lifetime best of 63 feet, 10 inches.

“It’s a really humbling feeling because last year, I finished sixth in Division 2,” Tsu said. “To go from sixth in Division 2 to first overall, all four divisions, it just goes to show how much my hard work is paying off. It shows how far I’ve come from gliding to spinning.”

Tsu’s 63-10 leads all Southern Section marks and ranks third in the state. The state leader is Clovis Buchanan’s Jacob Wilson (66-5.5). Clovis’ Jonah Wilson is second (64-3).

As for Arnold, he recovered just fine. He has qualified for Friday’s Masters Meet at Arcadia High in both the shot put and the discus.

“I just think it’s awesome,” the UC Riverside commit said. “I don’t think that Marina has many throwers that have even made it to CIF Finals. To have Kyle and I make it to Masters, and potentially, probably state, that is just mind-blowing.”

Kyle Tsu

Born: Feb. 21, 1999

Hometown: Huntington Beach

Height: 6 feet -4

Weight: 295 pounds

Sport: Track and field (shot put and discus)

Year: Senior

Coach: Carlos Castellanos and Mike Giron

Favorite food: Sushi

Favorite movie: “Lion King”

Favorite athletic moment: Before Tsu began to pop big throws in the spring, he celebrated a rare strong start as part of the Marina football team. The Vikings moved to 3-0 with a 24-20 victory over rival Westminster in a game that was dubbed the “First Annual Battle at Boswell.”

Week in review: Tsu won the CIF Southern Section Division 2 shot put title with a throw of 63 feet, 10 inches. The senior’s lifetime-best mark topped all competitors in the CIF-SS Finals at Cerritos College on Saturday.

CIF-SS Track and Field Masters Meet

Where: At Arcadia High

When: Friday, May 26

Fan Info: The stadium will open at 3 p.m., with girls’ pole vault kicking off the action at 3:30 p.m. The first race will be at 6 p.m. There is no charge for parking at Arcadia High. Tickets are $10 for adults. They are $5 for students with school ID and children (ages 5-13).

Local Boys Qualifiers

HJ – Jack Wiseman (Huntington Beach) 6-6

PV – Alex Escalera (Sage Hill) 15-8; Ryan Fegan (Newport Harbor) 15-0; Michael Magula (Marina) 14-6

SP – Kyle Tsu (Marina) 63-10; Jake Arnold (Marina) 56-6; Cole Smith (Newport Harbor) 53-7

DT – Cole Smith (Newport Harbor) 171-0; Jake Arnold (Marina) 166-1. Alternate: Mason Crane (Corona del Mar) 162-11

Local Girls Qualifiers

DT – Felicia Crenshaw (Costa Mesa) 153-10; Tayla Crenshaw (Costa Mesa) 129-2

Andrew.Turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner