TEMPE, AZ — When one door closes, another one opens.
For Corona del Sol High School junior Kelson Hogan, a closed door may have just led him to finding his calling at the next level.
Just hours after being cut from the Aztecs' varsity baseball team, Hogan and his family made the quick decision to pivot to track & field. He thought that with his experience as a pitcher and an outfielder, he might try his hand at throwing.
After throwing a javelin 130 feet in his first practice, he was hooked.
"It's been a pretty quick ramp-up. I started pretty much from zero, since I started javelin this year," Hogan said.
But less than three months after starting from zero, Hogan was setting state records.
A throw of 211 feet, 2 inches broke an Arizona record, setting the newcomer up for success in the sport and giving him a bar to chase his personal best.
Javelin coach Michael Rivers credits Hogan's baseball background as a key factor in his quick development.
"To see him get that success and for it all to be coming together, I kind of liken a lot of it to the baseball," Rivers said.
Hogan agrees that the skills from the diamond carried over.
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"The throw translates over pretty well, but just the small things like where I release it, how I get my hips through," Hogan said. "I would say it was pretty easy other than a few small intricacies.
"I'm glad it got me here."
This weekend, Hogan earned a spot on the state podium, finishing fifth. With U-20 Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, on the horizon next month, he says the mindset he developed in baseball continues to drive him.
"I've been on like a pretty sharp incline and I know at the end of the day I can't keep that up forever, so just keeping a positive mindset," Hogan said. "That's also something I took away from baseball that's really helped me in life and in this sport."
