By Bruce Rolfe
A Climax-Scotts High School senior who overcame a health challenge as a boy, has risen to some elite status that has put him in a position to compete in a national competition.
Gabe Walliczek’s amazing throw of 175’4” at the Southwest Michigan Throwers Classic May 11 at Schoolcraft qualified him to compete in the Adidas Track Nationals June 18-21 in Greensboro, North Carolina in the discus competition.
C-S coach Dave Lodes said there are a handful of meets Walliczek could compete in after he graduates, however competing in any future national meets, like the North Carolina event Walliczek said he would really like to compete in, will require fundraising.
To help Walliczek realize this memorable opportunity, residents can make donations for the Adidas Track Nationals event in Greensboro, North Carolina, by calling coach Dave Lodes at 269-584-0022.
Walliczek’s hard work and dedication has ascended the C-S senior to the Athletic.net No. 6 ranking in the state in all classes in the discus competition and No. 1 in Division 4 in the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association final power rankings. He is ranked No. 2 in Division 4 in the MITCA power rankings in the shot put and also listed on the (MITCA) Division 4 Watchlist.
He’s enjoying a lot of success his senior year after overcoming a serious health issue when he was a young boy.
He said when he was 3 years old he had a scratch on his chin that advanced to bruising and he became sick.
The C-S senior said he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and was told he had a 1% chance of surviving at the time.
He’s been in remission for 15 years, making the success he is enjoying now, very satisfying.
“It’s definitely nice that I am accomplishing what I am now,” he said.
Walliczek’s throw of 175’4” broke his own school record of 160’1” he established earlier this year.
He also broke the school record in the shot put with a throw of 49’8” at the SCAA jamboree at C-S April 22.
“He overcame a lot of that stuff when he was younger. He just dedicated himself to throwing, and he got the results. Not everybody that dedicates themselves as much gets the results, but he finally did. I don’t have too many kids that are of that kind of dedication. Like every day, they’re out there trying to crank it out. So he’s a pretty special athlete. He’s a special kid. He’s a really great kid too,” said Lodes.
A Climax-Scotts High School senior who overcame a health challenge as a boy, has risen to some elite status that has put him in a position to compete in a national competition.
Gabe Walliczek’s amazing throw of 175’4” at the Southwest Michigan Throwers Classic May 11 at Schoolcraft qualified him to compete in the Adidas Track Nationals June 18-21 in Greensboro, North Carolina in the discus competition.
C-S coach Dave Lodes said there are a handful of meets Walliczek could compete in after he graduates, however competing in any future national meets, like the North Carolina event Walliczek said he would really like to compete in, will require fundraising.
To help Walliczek realize this memorable opportunity, residents can make donations for the Adidas Track Nationals event in Greensboro, North Carolina, by calling coach Dave Lodes at 269-584-0022.
Walliczek’s hard work and dedication has ascended the C-S senior to the Athletic.net No. 6 ranking in the state in all classes in the discus competition and No. 1 in Division 4 in the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association final power rankings. He is ranked No. 2 in Division 4 in the MITCA power rankings in the shot put and also listed on the (MITCA) Division 4 Watchlist.
He’s enjoying a lot of success his senior year after overcoming a serious health issue when he was a young boy.
He said when he was 3 years old he had a scratch on his chin that advanced to bruising and he became sick.
The C-S senior said he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and was told he had a 1% chance of surviving at the time.
He’s been in remission for 15 years, making the success he is enjoying now, very satisfying.
“It’s definitely nice that I am accomplishing what I am now,” he said.
Walliczek’s throw of 175’4” broke his own school record of 160’1” he established earlier this year.
He also broke the school record in the shot put with a throw of 49’8” at the SCAA jamboree at C-S April 22.
“He overcame a lot of that stuff when he was younger. He just dedicated himself to throwing, and he got the results. Not everybody that dedicates themselves as much gets the results, but he finally did. I don’t have too many kids that are of that kind of dedication. Like every day, they’re out there trying to crank it out. So he’s a pretty special athlete. He’s a special kid. He’s a really great kid too,” said Lodes.
Walliczek said he begins each throw hoping to execute techniques he’s trained hard at that will put him in a position to have a good throw.
“Thinking about my cues and really locking in and hitting those cues during a meet. Just focusing on that. So every throw I think about what I did wrong or what I did right,”
explained Walliczek.
The Panther senior admits he was a little off in one area at Schoolcraft, but focused on making a correction and everything felt like it was in sync when he made his massive throw of 175’4”.
Walliczek’s numbers in both the shot put and discus started to jump his junior year. The Panther senior’s personal best in the discus his freshman year was 122’7”. His sophomore year it was 124’0”, and in his junior year his personal best was 155’1”.
He set a new personal record and school record at the Union City Invite April 24 with a throw of 158’8”, had another personal best and school record throw of 160’1” at the Chuck King Invite May 8 and smashed his own school record again with the 175’4” throw at the Southwest Michigan Throwers Classic.
“This year, I had a really good indoor season towards the end. I’ve been working on my spin for the last two years so that offseason has really paid off,” explained Walliczek.
He said breaking the 160-foot barrier was pleasing and gave him confidence he could reach another level.
While his throw of 175’4” was a huge improvement over his previous personal best, he’s hoping to improve on his personal best distance even more.
“My coach said I could get another 10 feet. Little cues can add feet. You’ve got to hit those. I just got lucky and hit two of them yesterday (at the Southwest Michigan Throwers Classic).”
The C-S senior has also qualified for the MHSAA State Finals May 30 and said he would like to place first in the discus, admitting a throw of 180’ “would be nice.”
He is also hoping to earn a top 8 finish in the shot put for an All-State medal. His personal best throw this year was 49’8”. He would like to enjoy a throw over 52 feet, which he feels would give him a chance of placing second or third at the State Finals.
The C-S senior has also made an impressive advancement in the shot put since his freshman year when his personal best throw was 33’3.5”. He increased his previous personal best number to 35’10.5” his sophomore season, and 49’1” his junior year, before recording his school record throw of 49’8” this year.
Instead of taking the off season completely off, Lodes said the last couple of years Walliczek threw the discus at inside practices during the winter and even competed in some indoor meets during the offseason.
Walliczek attributes a big increase in distance and success this season to offseason practice and competition along with a disciplined routine during the season.
“We practice all the time and I finally got it going,” said the C-S senior.
His coach agrees—Wallizcek is reaping the rewards of hard work and dedication.
“He’s just one of those kids that just works and works and works at it. There will be some days where I want him to take a day off, and he doesn’t want to. So, that’s how he’s got to where he is,” said Lodes.
The C-S coach adds Wallizcek is eager to learn through other sources too. He said the Panther senior watches a lot of video online, capturing knowledge from other coaches who offer techniques geared for improvement.
“He’s kind of dedicated himself to that sport. So he’s put a lot of work into it,” said the C-S track and field coach.
Lodes adds Walliczek has formed positive relationships with other throwing coaches in the area who have offered to provide him valuable insight.
“He’s really dedicated himself to the sport in that regard, technique-wise, and stuff like that. He’s just a really hard worker,” adds Lodes.
Another example of Walliczek’s dedication is he went to the Southwest Michigan Throwers Classic on his own with no other teammates or coaches at the meet with him.
His throw of 175’4” that was over 15 feet better then his previous school record throw of 160’1”, left the C-S senior very excited about his accomplishment.
“When he called me last night (May 11) about that throw he was really, super pumped. I never really heard him that pumped before,” adds Lodes.
Walliczek throws the discus using the rotation spin technique, meaning correct technique and timing are crucial.
“If something’s off somewhere, it throws a throw off. So he hit a throw last night where everything was in sync,” adds Lodes.
“We’ve seen it in practice a few times where he gets it out there, and just hasn’t done it in a meet yet until last night (May 11),” continued Lodes.
Lodes doesn’s recall a C-S athlete being ranked as high in the state in all divisions as Walliczek currently is, noting the five discus throwers ahead of him are Division 1 or Division 2.
Currently, Walliczek is considering a career in 5-Axis CNC Milling and isn’t sure if he will continue throwing in college. He may however throw in unattached meets, allowing him to continue to throw the discus.
“I’m definitely going to miss throwing because that’s been a big part of my high school career. I really like throwing,” said the C-S senior.
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