The fling's the thing: Discus obsession has Rolfe spinning

KENMORE — Sometimes, when the weather is agreeable, Nathan Rolfe will step out during his lunch break and head straight for the discus ring behind Inglemoor High School.

If he hurries, he says he can get in 20 good throws before the bell beckons him back to the classroom. But even there, Rolfe, the defending Class 4A state discus champion, finds it difficult to keep his mind off the sport.

He admits his grades slip slightly every spring and his thoughts frequently wander. Sometimes, he finds himself practicing his turns in the hallways. And between classes, he has been known to duck into the library and log on to one of his favorite Web sites, www.throwfarther.com, where he watches video clips of the legendary throwers, guys such as John Powell and Wolfgang Schmidt.

"Nate is just infatuated with the sport," said Mike Mills, Inglemoor's track coach. "He's just obsessed."

Rolfe said he became transfixed last season, and almost overnight.

"I saw a chance to go to state," Rolfe said. "And I got kind of obsessed."

He started throwing with gusto, often 80 times a day.

"I'd be doing circles in my room, the family room, the classroom, the grocery store, everywhere," Rolfe said. "Everyone thought I was crazy."

And then, on a sunny afternoon at Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma, he came out of nowhere to win the state discus title, beating heavily favored Adam Midles — now throwing on scholarship at USC — with what was then a personal-best heave of 171 feet, 3 inches.

"He just tagged one," said Nathan's father, Bruce. "He just hit the throw beautifully."

Rolfe will look to defend that title this season, having increased his personal record to 171-10 last Saturday despite throwing in lousy weather conditions at the Mead Invitational in Spokane.

He also will chase a state title in the shot put, where he ranks tops in the KingCo 4A Conference with a best throw of 55-2.

"He's so quick in both events when he gets in there (the circle)," Mills said. "I'm anxious to see him on a warm day, when he loosens up and can really pop one."

Already, Rolfe holds the school record in the discus and ranks second all-time in the shot put behind Brad Durbin, who threw 56-7 in 1986.

"Brad Durbin was probably the best athlete I've coached, but Nate is pretty close to that, physically," said Dave Allemeier, Inglemoor's throws coach for the past 18 years. "He's such a technician. I've had nobody as technically sound as Nate."

Credit that proficiency to Rolfe's incessant study.

A student of the sport, he can talk at length about some of history's great throwers. He'll tell you about Powell, for instance, the four-time Olympian who was "smaller and weaker than everyone," but compensated for his shortcomings with "speed and efficiency." Or Schmidt, the powerful East German who missed several years during the prime of his career while locked away as a political prisoner.

Rolfe also utilizes videotape to break down his technique.

His father, Bruce, who won state discus titles at Wheaton North High School near Chicago in 1975 and '76, and competed at Illinois and Oregon, tapes virtually all of Nathan's performances.

The two review them often, while also studying tapes of some of the sport's former superstars.

"My dad bought a Macintosh (computer) just because he liked the iMac video thing, so he could keep track of it all," Rolfe said. "We've studied just about every throw I've ever thrown."

With the state meet still eight weeks away, Rolfe believes he has much room for improvement. He has set his sights on topping 190 feet in the discus and 57 feet in the shot put.

Should he do that, he'd be in excellent position to win both events.

"I think I can throw a long way this year," Rolfe said. "I'm pretty excited about it."