Dylan Rains appreciates a great launch, whether it’s throwing a discus or hammer for sport or seeing rockets set off for the stars.
The Lindsay freshman, who plans to become an aerospace engineer, set the school record in discus at the Alex Invitational Meet on April 9, throwing 133.6 feet.
Jacque Estes previously held an unverified record of 120 feet.
“I’ve had my eye on the record,” Raines said.
Rains began throwing in the fifth grade. She quickly gained confidence, throwing 50-60 feet as a beginner.
In seventh grade, she attended a throwing clinic where she connected with coach Caleb Seal. Raines now receives training and attends additional competitions through Throw Town Ramona/ Seals Throwing Club.
As an eighth-grader, Raines began hitting the hundreds with her throws.
“It showed me I could do this,” she said.
At the Alex Meet, Raines began with throws around 118 and 116. Then, in the first throw of the finals, she achieved the record-setting throw.
“It’s super cool,” said Lindsay Coach Braxdan Turner. “She works really hard at it every day. I’ve learned from her.”
Rains’ next goal is to place at the State Meet.
She will also be competing at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon in June.
Through her work with Seals, Raines also throws hammers, which is not an OSSAA event.
“I’m actually better at hammer throw,” Rains said.
Regardless of what she is throwing or whether it’s for the school team or the throwing club, Rains enjoys the sport.
“I love throwing. I like that if I mess up, then it doesn’t mess up the whole team, and I have more chances to throw,” she said. “It doesn’t bring down the runners, and I have more tries. I also grasp it really well.”
Raines is also a utility player for the Leopardettes fastpitch softball and a musician, most notably playing the piccolo in the Macy’s Great American Marching Band in November’s Thanksgiving parade.
“I’m so proud of her,” said her mom Carrie Rains. “She can do anything she puts her mind to.”
Her long-term goals include throwing at the Division I level and finding ways to stay involved in the sport as an adult.
She also wants to become an aerospace engineer, a desire inspired by her fifth-grade science teacher Stacy Willis and rooted in a trip to a space camp in Huntsville, Ala., in seventh grade.
“I’ve always loved space,” Rains said. “I like figuring stuff out. I want to make tools and make rockets, anything that can help with the space missions to Mars.”
