TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. — On May 2nd in Middletown, New York at the 12th Rock Throws Invitational Tunkhannock junior Matt Prebola set the mark of 210 feet as the top throw in Pennsylvania this season. And it is currently the #1 throw nationally for a junior.
"I started training in October with a lot of medicine ball, upper body lifts, lower body lifts, box jumps, band work and then once it was nice enough to get outside and get my legs in shape I started with the running and then I arrived at the track season," said Matt.
As a freshman in 2019 Matt finished 3rd at the state meet going 199-1 in "3A". Two years later under the direction of his father Bill who is the Tigers throwing coach Matt is still in "3A" and looking forward to the district meet at North Pocono on May 18th.
"Focus on the little things. Focus on what I got leading up to the meets. Just staying focused and then hopefully at the meet I do well enough to make it to states," again said Matt.
"Matt has been training since the fall and obviously we have warm weather so we can get a lot of throws in. We really like to focus on the little things, the speed and the release, and hopefully it all comes together when he is on the runway. And obviously he is having a great year and I am super proud of him," said Bill.
Over the last several years Matt has had a chance to work with Marc Minichello the Ivy League champion from Penn in the Men's Javelin. Mark graduated from Wyoming Area and.he was the 2018 state champion in the javelin.
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"He is an awesome kid. I actually trained with him last March. A really great role model. I learned a lot from him and he teaches me a lot," added Matt.
"Mark is a great kid and they work well together. And Mark teaches him and they review. Mark is technically an excellent thrower so that really helps Matt," added Bill.
If Matt qualifies for the state meet at Shippensburg on May 29th his main competition comes from a few throwers from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference out of District XI.
Steve Lloyd Newswatch 16 sports Wyoming County.