Such as it goes in throwing circles, improvement is typically measured through inches, perhaps a foot or two. Mark Poje — in stark contrast and to his utmost credit — has a different measurement of year-over-year improvement: Feet. As in several. As a result, the Riverside standout junior shot p utter has ascended into the conversation of being a potential state-caliber performer. Considering a spinal injury concurrent with this improvement, measurement goes a lot farther than metrics here. Poje and Josh Porter teamed to break the shot put relay meet record April 12 during the Gene Kobus Perry Relays with a combined effort of 100 feet. Poje recorded the top individual effort with a throw of 51-1, with fellow junior Porter topping out at 48-11. The prior meet record was 99-4 1/2, set last year by Madison’s outstanding duo of Ryan Radkowski and Bryce Brock. Here are my usual NH area video meet highlights, this time from Perry Relays(TBH, my PV/LJ timing was absolutely brutal today … otherwise, not bad; story will be shared in a moment) pic.twitter.com/IqlKqSP6oq — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) April 12, 2025 During the Ned Weingart Relays at Cleveland Heights on April 5, Poje had the second-best throw of 51-8, good for second among News-Herald coverage area boys shot putters. Here's my usual NH area video meet highlights, this time from WeingartGot some good stuff, but much more limited than I'd prefer – never satisfied with my form in this regard , but so be it(Story coming shortly) pic.twitter.com/gi4YBKM7L5 — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) April 5, 2025 There might not be a coverage area track and field student-athlete in any event who has displayed more rapid year-over-year upward trajectory than Poje, in the low-to-mid 40s for much of his sophomore campaign. He didn’t finish the 2024 regular season ranked in coverage area leaders. From there to here has been a maze. But Poje is thrilled with the results thus far. “I think this performance really just gives me more confidence going into the rest of the year,” Poje said. “In cold weather, I’m consistently producing. Once it gets hot, I’m ready to pop a big one and show people what I can really do.” Poje didn’t compete in the postseason a year ago for the Beavers. He was third at the Miele Invitational, fifth at the Euclid Relays among individuals and third with Porter as a relay and fifth at the Western Reserve Conference meet. The best throw of the bunch was a 43-11 at Euclid. So, again, improvement here is measured in feet. Poje was quick to credit offseason training for that uptick. “I think it’s really just trusting my strength and conditioning coaches,” Poje said. “We’ve got some great coaches that are really getting us into the gym. The more we combine to that system, lift heavy weight and throw things far, I think that’s really what keeps building me and pushing me to go farther. “We do a lot of elastic band work. When we’re jumping and deadlifting off the ground, it’s that pull that really gets that pop out of the shot put and discus from your hand.” There’s also the matter of what Poje overcame out of the circle. “For me, (this improvement) wasn’t really crazy surprising,” Poje said. “Even from last year, I knew it was in me. I broke my spine last year. So being able to come back and keep pushing, I knew it was there the whole time. I just needed an opportunity to show it. “To be honest, I don’t think I’m fully back (from the spinal injury). But it’s just about pushing through and rehabbing. I’m at (physical therapy) two or three times a week. As long as I can keep pushing, I trust my trainer and my strength and conditioning coach to help me strengthen my back and my core to make sure that doesn’t happen again.” It was an ailment with which he can’t pinpoint its exact cause. “To be honest and completely frank, I have no idea,” Poje said. “I broke my L4 vertebrae in my spine. I kind of just woke up one day and was like, ‘Ow.’ So that was kind of a crazy situation. I did it last year at the beginning of the season and threw for the rest of the season, which I would not recommend at all.” The L4 is one of the five bones in the lumbar, or lower, spine. A 2019 study published by the National Institutes of Health of NCAA athletes found an occurrence of around six lumbar-spine injuries for every 1,000 “athlete exposures.” The first prominent sign of Poje’s markedly improved shot put acumen came at the Division I state indoor meet last month, when he was runner-up with a 53-5 3/4. State indoor track and field: NDCL boys capture D-III team crown; area champs, top-fives abound The performance was one thing and commendable, but confidence emerging from such a breakout meet was another. "Oh, that just boosted me, like a ton," Poje said. "That gave me the opportunity to kind of puff out my chest a little bit, walk with a little more pride. I could finally show what I know I could do. It gave me the opportunity to speak with some more collegiate coaches. And that's exactly what I needed. It's a confidence boost that I'm very grateful for. "I think everybody should try to find that confidence boost. Because when you find it, there's nothing quite like it." The throwing community, more times than not, tends to be a tight-knit group. That camaraderie is evident to Poje in his more immediate orbit as well as beyond. Poje lauds the impact Porter has had on his throwing and the mutual benefit to one another. That, of course, is clear after surpassing a very solid meet standard at Perry. "It's incredible," Poje said. "I like when he goes first so I can chase a number and vice versa. When you're with somebody who's throwing where you're at, in the best way possible, you just want to beat them. So having a teammate that's one of the other best in the area, it really pushes me to work harder. If I catch him doing an extra lift, it's like, 'Oh, now I've got to catch up.'" It's camaraderie that extends beyond community borders as well. At Perry and at Weingart, for example, the support for each thrower in the final flight was energetic and genuine. That included the trademark field-event clap-along. "It's really great, because this is a community around here," Poje said. "It's not throwing against other people. It's about trying to better yourself each meet and throwing against yourself. So I'm not looking to throw first. I'm not looking to get fifth place. I'm looking to try to beat what I did last week and whatever that places me, it places me. So it gives me an opportunity to cheer for other people. I know they're trying to do the same." From a floor in the low-to-mid 40s to navigating a back injury to rapid year-over-year improvement, Poje has traversed a complex maze in recent memory. But to his utmost credit, measurement of better isn't merely dictated in metrics. This one went much farther than that. Now is the matter of translating it to a D-I state outdoor push. In program history, the Riverside boys have had one shot put state qualifier: Chris Basich, when he was D-I state champion in 1999. Poje would relish nothing more than adding a second state qualifier to Beavers' lore after what he has overcome to date. "Stay in the gym," Poje said of the key to a state push. "Every missed day of a lift or an off day, or maybe a missed rep, is an opportunity you're losing to get better. So if I'm not lifting, I feel like I'm giving up on myself. So I've got to keep staying in the gym, trusting my coaches, and hit all my cues." ...read more read less