St. Joseph junior takes state title in javelin

Friday, Jun. 10, 2022

OGDEN — St. Joseph Catholic High School junior Sarah Snell loves team sports. She is a member of the school’s girls basketball and volleyball teams and plays softball competitively. But she also is making a name for herself as an individual athlete.

This year in track and field competition, Snell took first place in javelin at region and at three invitationals: City-County, Logan Grizzly and Davis. Then, at the UHSAA State Track & Field Championships at Brigham Young University’s Clarence Robison Track on May 19, Snell took first in javelin, throwing a distance of 42 meters. 

Snell’s throw was the best of the meet, beating out champions in all divisions.

Snell has been throwing javelin for two years. Because St. Joseph’s does not have throwing coaches, she has worked mostly on her own with a little help from a Ben Lomond High School coach and a former BYU javelin thrower.

While four St. Joseph students qualified for state in javelin, three had graduation preparation during the championships, so Snell was the only one who competed. 

“The main reason I started javelin was because of softball and volleyball,” she said. “There’s a lot of throwing and hitting [in those sports]. With a lot of arm strength things, I just felt like I might be good at it because I have that already ingrained in my brain.”

At the state championship, Snell competed against defending 2A javelin champion Mary Degraffenreid from Milford High School.

“Going into state, I had already settled for second because I had been following Mary all season because I knew she threw really far and was really, really good,” she said. “I just assumed that there was no way I could throw as good as her. But when I got there, I thought, ‘I might as well put it all out there,’ and I was throwing some of my best throws. I thought I could keep pushing myself. I was the last person to throw and it was a 42, and I was like, ‘Wow, I won!’”

Joe Loffredo, St. Joseph’s track and field coach, has been impressed with Snell, who is the school’s record holder in javelin. He hopes to see her break the state record for 2A next year. “She’s probably the best javelin thrower that we’ve had since I’ve been at St. Joseph’s,” he said.

Snell intends to continue to work on her performance in javelin next year. For college, she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in tourism/hospitality management. While she has looked at various schools’ track and field programs, that will not be the deciding factor, she said.

“I just want to be happy with myself by the time my high school career is over,” she said. “I have improved a lot from last year so I might as well just keep going up.”