Timothy Christian's Stein improves to second in state

Timothy Christian's Rob Stein watches his attempt at the class 1A shot put event at the IHSA State Track Finals on Saturday at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
(Dan Luedert/Staff Photographer)

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BOYS TRACK -- Last year, Timothy Christian junior Rob Stein thought he would be one of the best sophomore shot put throwers in the state.

On Saturday, Stein proved he is one of the best overall.

Stein threw three personal bests, climaxed by a career-high 55 feet-5 3/4 inches that earned second place in Class 1A at the first three-class boys track state meet at Eastern Illinois in Charleston. Stein only was beaten by Peotone sophomore Tyler Clott, who had no legal throws in Saturday's finals but whose 56-7 from preliminaries May 28 held on for the title.

"I'm going to be walking out of here meeting the family, seeing the reactions of people, walking around with my medal," Stein said. "It's bittersweet. I wanted to win, and I could have won. It hasn't sunk in because I set my goals so high for first, but I know it's a good thing."

With a top-nine finish, Stein becomes just the third shot put all-stater in program history, joining Troy Thomas (2005) and Josh Biesboer (2001), who both accomplished it as seniors. Stein nearly eclipsed Thomas' school record of 55-6 1/2, which captured the Class A state title.

A motivated Stein made huge strides from finishing 14th at Class A state in 2008 (49-0) after being 24th in 2007 (45-6) as the highest freshman finisher.

"Last year was a letdown, and I was determined to get back to where I needed to be. I lifted harder this year. I listened to what coach (John VanderKamp) was telling me," Stein said.

"You're not better than people just naturally. I was the No. 1 freshman in the state, and I then sophomore year I thought I could just coast. You can't coast because people will pass you, so they passed me and I said to myself, 'I've got to pass some of them.' I passed everyone but one."

The new three-class format helped Stein excel. Stein has been battling torn cartilage on the side of the wrist of his throwing hand, and he received a day of rest Friday because that's when the Class 2A and 3A preliminaries were held. Stein spent most of Friday studying for Monday's final exams.

In past years, the Class A and AA prelims both were Friday. Stein's 55-1 3/4 from prelims would have held up for second, but he was able to throw 55-3 on his first attempt and 55-5 3/4 on his last Saturday.

"I wouldn't have been able to throw that well (Saturday). I probably would have been in the 51s, so the day off helped," Stein said. "I knew I had to get a good prelim throw (May 28) in case my wrist didn't feel good."

Besides a school record, Stein already has a simple goal in mind for 2010.

"I've got to be champ next year. Put me on tape. I've got to be the champ," Stein said.