Korben Boaz has been laboring at his “throwing” craft for four years.

Jeanette DeWitt took up discus throwing only last year.

Both seniors have made history. They are the first athletes from five-year-old Nipomo High School to qualify for a state meet. They are in the CIF State Track and Field Meet which takes place Friday and Saturday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

DeWitt qualified first in the girls discus at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet last Friday night with a 157-0 at Cerritos College. Boaz qualified second in the boys shot put (personal best 59-9) and discus (175-8) at the same meet.

Friday qualifying in the girls shot put and boys discus starts at 3 p.m. Boys shot put qualifying begins at 5 that day. Finals in those events start at the same times Saturday.

Shafter junior Anna Jelmini, with a best of 183-11, is the girls discus favorite. DeWitt's best of 157-10 is third-best in the state.

Senior Dayshan Ragans of Bakersfield Foothill is the boys shot put (best of 63-4) and discus (203-7) favorite. Boaz's best discus throw (179-10) ranks him tied for sixth statewide. His best shot put mark puts him eighth.

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“I've thought at times about us being the first from our school to qualify, and I've thought, ‘wow, that's really something,'” DeWitt said at a workout at the school Tuesday.

“Korben's worked so hard at this. He deserves this so much. Me, I just wanted to try (the discus) out last year.”

As for DeWitt, “Practices this week have been going great,” she said. “I'm so excited,” about her first, and last, state track and field meet.

DeWitt's threw 157-10 while winning the CIF Southern Section Division III championship. Her best throw last year was 131-0.

“I'm just doing everything better - getting better height, better extension, finishing better,” she said. “Also, I have that sense of urgency this year that I didn't have last year.

“Coaches would tell me last year, ‘Oh, you'll be in the 150s next year.'” That's what happened. However, “This year, I really have the feeling that ‘hey, this is it,'” said DeWitt.

The duo took different roads to high school throwing stardom. Their athletic roads after high school will be divergent, too.

The state meet will be DeWitt's last fling at the discus. She signed a national letter of intent earlier this month to play basketball for NCAA Division II Sonoma State. Boaz's throwing career will continue at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

He'll play football in the fall there first. “I'll play on the interior defensive line,” said Boaz, who's listed in the 2007 Nipomo football program at 6-1, 250 pounds.

Boaz and DeWitt both gave much credit for their success to Nipomo head track coach Matt Sinkson. He is also the throws coach. Sinkson has been the throws coach since the school's inception. He became the head track coach in 2006.

DeWitt, in fact, praised Nipomo's coaching staff in general. “Coach Sinkson has helped me so much, with my technique and just everything. John Howard and Summer Schoening (assistants) have really helped me too.

“There's coach (Lawrence) Rucker with the sprinters and jumps. We're fortunate to have such a big coaching staff here at Nipomo.”

Boaz said, “The throws, especially the discus, really require a lot of coaching, I think. Coach Sinkson, and coach Howard, too, have really helped me along this year.”

Sinkson said, “Korben is really a student of the game. He'll always be looking to me for instruction during a meet. Jeanette, sometimes she'll look to me but not always. She's done a lot of this on athletic ability.

“Sometimes I'll find myself a little irritated that's she's not looking to me,” Sinkson said with a grin. “Jeanette will be over there with the other girls in the discus (competition) making friends. I'm from the school which says, ‘you're friends after it's over.' But that's Jeanette.”

Sinkson noted that while they're both listed at 6-1, Boaz (built like the star football player he is) and DeWitt (built like the star basketball player SHE is) have vastly different physiques.

“Jeanette, if she was to throw in college, could put on 20 pounds on that frame by really hitting the weights in college - and she'd still be one of the lighter girls in the discus. She could go 180 like that,” Sinkson snapped his fingers. “Then she could go 190, 200 and be a force on the national scene. That's taking nothing away from her desire to play basketball, though. I know that's what she wants to do.”

Sinkson noted, “She had looks from Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Northridge for discus throwing, Cal Poly would have let her done both sports - though a winter, spring sports double in college is really tough. The UCLA coaches were hinting around at the Mt. SAC meet.”

As for Boaz, “The thing that's really stood out about Korben is his consistency this year,” said Sinkson. “His best last year was 55-9. He hit that early. Never did it again.

“He hit 169-10 in the discus once last year. Never hit it again. This year he's been in the 170's, among the leaders, all year.”

Boaz has good athletic bloodlines. “My (late) grandpa, Bob Counts, ran a 10.8 100 meters 50 years ago. He was built about the same as me, but minus some mass.”

Korben said his brother Kellen Boaz was a big motivator for him. He said Kellen Boaz was a state meet competitor when he threw for Arroyo Grande. Korben said Kellen, who graduated from Arroyo Grande in 2004, had bests of 58 feet in the shot put and 170 feet in the discus.

“I want to take advantage of playing as many sports in my youth as I can, while I can,” Boaz said with a smile. “My performance at the Masters Meet was what sealed it for me as far as wanting to continue on (with throws) in college.

“My goals this year were 60 feet in the shot put and 180 feet in the discus.”

He'll have one more big meet to try to surpass both.

Sports writer Kenny Cress can be reached at 739-2237 or by e-mail to kcress@santamariatimes.com

May 28, 2008