Shelby Moran Motivated To Go Out A Winner At State

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Shelby Moran was getting a little bit ticked off. The first throws in her series at the Three Rivers League district championship discus competition were not flying as planned.

Moran knew the throws didn’t match her training and she had worked too hard for too long to be satisfied with another mediocre series.

The Sherwood OR senior stepped into the ring May 9 and on her sixth attempt she let it rip.

The measurement, 179 feet, 7 inches, was a season’s best by 12 feet and a personal best by nine feet. It also booked her entry into this week’s OSAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field with a US#1 ranking. INTERVIEW

“I knew when I got in the middle of the ring (the sixth throw) would be good,” Moran said. “I was pretty excited (about the distance) because I hadn’t PR’d all season.”

Moran, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of Maggie Ewen at Arizona State, is also ranked US#2 in the hammer at 191-11. The hammer isn’t contested at the Oregon state meet, but she plans to continue throwing it in the postseason.

Moran’s final trip to Hayward Field in a Sherwood uniform brings a chance at redemption. In 2017, she came to the state meet as the best female discus thrower in state history but suffered three out-of-sector fouls and did not advance to the final.

“As soon as I fouled my last throw, I left crying, but I came back to cheer on my teammates and finished it out with them,” Moran said. “I think about (the fouls), but not in a bad way. I use it as motivation to get better, get stronger.”

Moran took 10-15 minutes to herself and was consoled by her parents and coaches. Then, she returned to the discus ring to watch and lend support to the finalists.

“She’d had an incredible season, so we were in no way disappointed with her,” Sherwood throws coach Rob Kelley said. “We felt bad for her. She took a few minutes by herself and then we talked to her with her parents, and said, ‘things are going to go well for you, and you’re not a senior.’ It took extreme maturity to come back. Most kids would have left and wouldn’t have wanted to watch the rest of it.”

Moran, who won the Class 6A state title as a sophomore in 2016 at 148-8, has developed an intense dedication to the sport. She does the Sherwood High workout each day after school and also drives to Oregon City for additional workouts with private coach Scott Skipper.  

Her mind remains fixed on the rotational movements inside the ring – the turns, the footwork, the body positions.

She practices her turns “at school, in the hallways, at home, at the store,” Moran said.

And this week, she hopes that there is even more distance to be had. She is currently ranked 17th all-time nationally.

“There were a lot of things wrong with it,” Moran said of her big throw last week.

After the state meet, where she will also put the shot, Moran has her sights set on the Iron Wood Throws Classic in Idaho, June 1-2. And then she’ll go to Bloomington, Ind., for USATF Juniors, June 16-17.