By BUTCH HARMON
What a time for your best effort.
Competing at the Division 3 state track and field finals at Comstock Park, Laingsburg’s Michael Schauer picked a perfect time to turn in the best performance of his high school career in the discus. He threw the discus 172’8″ to surpass second-place finisher Clay Walderzak of Standish-Sterling, and the throw was a full three feet farther than his previous best throw.
“I think it was just the great competition here,” said Schauer. “All the other guys are the best throwers in the state, and you have to push yourself. I think going up against all these other great athletes, it just gets the adrenaline going.”
Winning a state title was not something that Schauer had in mind when the track season began. In fact, his goals were a little lower.
“Actually, at the beginning of the season, I was just hoping to make it to the state meet,” he said. “My best throw last year in the discus was 151, so I was hoping to improve this year and make it to state.”
Schauer put in plenty of time during the off-season to prepare for this year’s track season. “I practiced a lot in the off-season,” he said. “My dad helped me a lot and encouraged me. He has been a big part of my success.”
While Schauer competes in both the discus and the shot put, the discus is his specialty. “I think my best shot put was 48 feet,” he said. “The discus is my favorite event. I started doing both the shot and discus when I went out for track as a freshman.”
Winning a state title wrapped up a perfect season for Schauer, who also won the regional discus title.
“It feels great winning the state title,” Schauer said. “I never lost in the discus all season. It’s a great feeling to end the season with the state title and having never lost all year.”
A four-year member of the Laingsburg football team and a three-year member of the basketball team, Schauer finished his high school career with a 3.8 grade point average and will be going to Michigan State University, where he plans to concentrate on academics, although he did leave open the possibility of going out for the track team as a walk-on.