Double duty ends for Portage's Bliss

Portage sophomore Tori Bliss took sixth at state last year in the shot put while also playing softball. This year, she has quit softball to focus solely on track.
(Scott M. Bort/Post-Tribune)

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PORTAGE – For a fleeting moment, Tori Bliss was disappointed. The Portage thrower's goal had been to place in the top five in the shot put at the state finals. She settled for sixth.

Except it wasn't really settling at all. Not when you're the only freshman on the podium, which is where Bliss was when the significance of her accomplishment finally sank in.

"It was overwhelming," Bliss said. "I was there. Not a lot of freshmen can say that."

Bliss, in fact, was the only freshman shot putter to make it to Bloomington. A few weeks earlier, at the Portage Relays, she set a state record (44-4.5) for freshmen shot putters.

"She's the best shot putter we've ever had," Portage throws coach Mark Harsha said.

She's also a prototypical cleanup hitter with prodigious power and a quick bat.

Hence, Bliss' offseason dilemma.

As a freshman, Bliss juggled track and softball just fine. Her coaches didn't mind sharing her services, and Bliss didn't mind shuffling from one practice to the other on a daily basis. It was softball from 3 to 4, track from 4 to 5.

From an outsider's perspective, the system seemed to work. Bliss quickly shattered Portage's school record in the shot put, and by the end of softball season she was the Indians' designated hitter.

Only Bliss wasn't satisfied. Because of track, she wasn't as productive as she thought she could be as a hitter. And because of softball, she never had time to learn the discus or consistently lift weights.

Something had to give. She could give up softball, the sport she had been playing since she was 6. Or she could give up track, the sport that provided the best chance for more state hardware and a college scholarship.

"It was going to be a tough decision," she said.

Bliss thought about it all offseason. She talked it over with her mom. Talked it over with her track coach. Talked it over with her softball coach.

Finally, a few days before softball tryouts, Bliss made a decision.

"There will be times when I will miss softball," she said, "but I feel I have a better chance of getting somewhere with track."

Now that she is fully committed to track, Bliss is spending more time in the weight room. She's working more with Harsha on learning the discus. And, of course, she's honing her technique in the shot put.

"I'm getting stronger," Bliss said, "and that's helping."

Bliss, who threw 43-4.25 at last year's state finals, has already thrown 44-10.5 this year. Her goal is to surpass 46 feet by the end of the season and make it back to Bloomington.

Only this time, when she ascends the podium, Bliss wants to be standing above everyone else.

"I feel like the chance of winning state this year is very reachable," Bliss said. "If I just continue to work hard and continue to better my technique, I think it's a very attainable goal."

It's attainable because four of the five shot putters who placed higher than Bliss last year have graduated. And because since then, she has only become more committed to her craft.

Contact David Robb at 648-3122, drobb@post-trib.com or visit his blog at blogs.post-trib.com/robb.