History a few throws away

Updated: June 2, 2011 9:48PM

Tori Bliss already has recorded the nation’s top distance in the shot put and holds the Duneland Athletic Conference championship mark in the discus.

Her effort of 49 feet, 8.75 inches, at the DAC meet May 10, put the Portage senior in the No. 1 spot nationally.

“It means a lot to have that top bill, but I’m not really thinking about it right now,’’ she said. “I’m just thinking about wanting more and going even farther.’’

The LSU-bound Bliss — who has a personal record of 148-2 in the discus — has the opportunity to make history at the 38th IHSAA girls state track meet Saturday at Indiana University.

The defending state champion in both events could become the first female athlete to ever capture back-to-back titles.

If she accomplishes the feat, Bliss will head for LSU with a record of five individual state titles in the throws.

“It would be nice to win the third one (in shot put), and it would be a big feat in my career to be able to do that and defend both titles,’’ Bliss said. “It would be the kind of thing that would let me know what all my hard work has done and that it’s definitely paid off.’’

Bliss has had to work even harder — not to mention pray quite a bit — over the past week after she suffered a severe left ankle sprain when she accidentally stepped on another student’s foot in a physical education class, May 25.

After more than a week of icing, electrical stimulation therapy and keeping weight off the foot, Bliss was released Wednesday by her doctor to compete.

“I’ve made a huge improvement from last week,’’ she said. “The doctor was impressed with how far I’d come and how much the swelling had gone down. My spirits are up from where they were last week when I was down in the dumps and didn’t know what the future would hold.’’

After her release from the doctor, Bliss spent an hour practicing her events Wednesday.

She spent nearly a week working with a modified practice schedule that involved throwing from a chair. But that restricted her movement because of the back of the chair, so she changed to a plyometric box.

“One of the interesting learning experiences associated with our modified workouts was just the how much total body movement is actually involved,’’ Portage throws coach Mark Harsha said. “It put everything in perspective in terms of how important the legs and the hips are in the throw. It’s the total body as opposed to just the arm and trying to torque up.’’

The modified practice workouts served their purpose and helped Bliss to prepare for the state meet, despite the physical limitations imposed on her by the ankle sprain.

“Practice time was critical,’’ Harsha said. “When you’re preparing, practicing hard and pushing it, good things happen. Tori’s progressed and that’s how things should be. The competitions are our gages. We’ll have to wait and see what will happen Saturday, but she’s practiced hard and rehabbed hard. She’s prepared.’’

Bliss said her ankle felt good during Wednesday’s practice session.

“I’m feeling more confident with having the injury,’’ she said. “I’m not thinking about it. I’m just going out and throwing. My goals are to go out there and compete, be intense and really get after it — and whatever happens, happens.’’

Whether Bliss is able to successfully defend her titles and make history in the process remains to be seen.

Her work ethic and determination as an athlete, though, are unmatched.

A self-admitted perfectionist, Bliss claims she’s the type of person who never really feels like she’s reached perfection, so she just keeps pushing and pushing herself.

Bliss is never satisfied. She never cuts corners, because she believes doing so only means she’s cheating herself.

One thing is for sure, Bliss won’t be thinking about her ankle injury while competing on Saturday. She’ll leave everything she has on the track.

“It’s just another obstacle I have to deal with,’’ she said. “I firmly believe that how any person responds to adversity is what ultimately defines them as a person. This injury is my adversity. How I deal with it and respond to it, will truly reveal what kind of person I am.”

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