Emerging throwers lead way for Fox Chapel track and field

By: Greg Macafee
Saturday, April 24, 2021 | 11:01 AM

Fox Chapel coach Tom Moul has seen a lot of track and field athletes produce for his teams this season, but throwers Caleb Kulikowski and Jing McCann have stood atop the list from the start.

After not being able to compete last season because of the coronavirus pandemic, McCann and Kulikowski have stepped up this season and performed well.

At the Pine-Richland mini-invitational April 17, Kulikowski placed second in the shot put, fourth in the discus and fourth in the javelin. McCann won the discus with a season personal best of 118 feet, 5¹⁄₂ inches. She also placed fourth in the shot put and third in the javelin.

At Fox Chapel’s meet against Seneca Valley on April 20, McCann and Kulikowski earned multiple first-place finishes.

“Caleb getting three firsts against Seneca Valley and Jing getting two, that’s huge,” Moul said. “A lot of times, kids might only want to focus on one event, but both Caleb and Jing are super-interested in learning all three events, and they are very team-oriented and interested in doing the best that they can in all three events.”

McCann and Kulikowski have shown improvement from previous years. Although he showed signs of promise as a freshman two years ago, Kulikowski immediately has become one of the best throwers on the team as a junior.

Against Butler and North Hills on April 8, Kulikowski recorded his longest shot put throw of the season at 45-3. He had his longest javelin (157-2) and discus (122-2) throws of the season against Seneca Valley.

“When he was a freshman, he really showed promise, and then he did look really good during our indoor season as well last year,” Moul said. “So we expected him to do well this season, but he’s also exceeded what we had hoped for as well. We knew he was always a good shot putter, but he’s been good in the discus and javelin this year as well.”

McCann, meanwhile, registered her best discus throw of the season at the Pine-Richland mini-invitational and recorded her best shot put throw of the season against Seneca Valley with a toss of 32-9. Her top javelin throw of the season came against Butler and North Hills on April 8 at 96-3.

Moul said McCann has had a hard time putting it all together over the years, but that isn’t the case this season.

“She’d have these monster throws in practice, but it’s kind of been her Achilles’ heel,” Moul said. “We were hoping she’d be able to put it together this year, and she has. That’s been a nice thing for us and for her as well.”

While McCann and Kulikowski have produced, they have put in a lot of work to do so. They both hit the weight room and worked tirelessly on their craft.

“It’s a combination of focusing on strength and also technique,” Moul said. “You can be strong as an ox, but without technique, you aren’t going to throw very far.”

Both throwers are off to a good start, but there’s still plenty of time left for both to improve. After how their seasons have gone, Moul expects them both to do so.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Fox Chapel