Larson Throws Her Way to Top

Shelaine Larson will one day choose between basketball and track and field, but in the meantime the Moorpark College freshman is enjoying both sports.

Larson, the daughter of Ventura High boys’ basketball Coach Dan Larson, says she was practically raised in a gymnasium. Yet she’s the top-ranked shotputter and discus thrower in the state entering the Southern California championships at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut today.

The meet starts with field events at 2 p.m. Running events start at 5.

“I love both sports in different styles,” said the 6-foot Larson. “Basketball is so team-oriented and it’s all about fundamentals and chemistry. Track is a team sport in a certain way, but it’s also an individual sport. You have much more freedom.”

Larson began playing competitive basketball in second grade, but she didn’t start shotputting or throwing the discus until she was a freshman at Buena High.

She was introduced to the shotput during a physical education class in junior high. Her interest increased when she discovered that her mother, Elaine, was a 39-8 shotputter in high school in Ohio.

“That was a big goal of mine when I started throwing,” Larson said. “To break my mom’s record.”

Larson finished second in the shotput in the Channel League finals as a freshman.

She was second in the shotput and third in the discus as a sophomore when she had bests of 37-0 1/2 and 116-0.

She improved to 38-11 and 135-1 as a junior, and to 42-8 1/2 and 135-2 as a senior, winning four league titles and three Ventura County championships during that time.

Her improvement has continued this year under Moorpark throws coach Bob MacKay. She has bests of 45-6 in the shotput and 158-6 in the discus.

She also took up the hammer throw, an event not contested in high school in California. She ranks second in the state at 161-0.

“The discus has surprised me, the shotput is coming along at a steady pace and the hammer is still a little tricky because it’s so new to me,” Larson said.

Strong finishes in next week’s state championships and continued improvement next year will make Larson a solid prospect at the NCAA Division I level, but she still plans to play basketball next season at Moorpark.

“I was indecisive about playing basketball last season,” Larson said. “I thought my time might be better spent lifting weights [and] getting ready for track season. But my coach encouraged me to play basketball. He said all the running and jumping would be good training for the throws. It would get me in shape and help my footwork.”