By Craig Sager II
Avondale High School’s Chip Kell set the Georgia state shot put record in 1966 with a throw of 66-07. He went on to be an All-American lineman at the University of Tennessee and even earned a place in the College Football Hall of Fame. Fifty years passed and Kell’s record was still untouched.
On Thursday, however, Campbell’s Isaiah Rogers eclipsed his own personal best and threw a state record-setting 67-10.00 to rewrite the record books for the first time in five decades. Rogers, didn’t foul on any of his six attempts and unleashed his record-setting throw on his second attempt. All six throws traveled further than 63 feet.
“I was really focused going into the meet,” he told the Marietta Daily Journal. “I didn’t want to make it too tough on myself mentally that I wouldn’t perform well, so I just treated it like any other meet. It’s cool to get the state record and the (personal best), but when I threw it, I didn’t see 67-10."
Rogers has international experience after competing for Team USA at the youth level and is a standout in the discus and hammer. Rogers earned a runner-up finish in the discus on Thursday with a throw of 167-11, while coming up one-inch short of the school record. He is ranked top 10 in the nation in all three throwing events and will attend TCU next fall.
