At the end of her freshman year in 2024, sophomore Josie Dicken set a goal to break the girls’ shot put school record by the end of her sophomore season.
Tyrone Head Coach Brad Kanuch also thought it was a realistic goal, based on her performance as a freshman.
“When Coach Chuck [Hawkins] and I talked about it, we thought it was possible,” Kanuch said. “We discussed it at the beginning of the year, but we wanted to see Josie make progress to be consistently in the 30-0’s for her throws. Once that started to happen, I think Chuck and Josie realized it was a real possibility this year.”
All her hard work paid off a couple of months sooner than she thought. At the home meet on April 15 against Bishop Guilfoyle and Penns Valley, Dicken broke the record by 3 inches with a throw of 32-10.
“I’m happy I broke the record, but I didn’t think I was going to do it until the end of the year,” Dicken said.
The record was the second-oldest mark on the girls’ side, having stood for 36 years.
The previous record was set by current Tyrone fourth-grade teacher Krista (Kustenbauder) Getz when she was a senior in 1989. Getz still holds the oldest girls’ track record at Tyrone, for discus with a throw of 112-10, set during her junior year in 1988 (see records below).
Getz is proud that her record stood for so long, but also happy that it has finally been broken.
“It is wonderful that someone has finally broken the record. I love watching and reading [about the track team], and I am proud of the success of our Tyrone athletes,” Getz said.
Getz said that she has not yet had a chance to congratulate Josie, but would like to make it to districts to watch all the Tyrone athletes compete.
“The dedication and work ethic of these student athletes never ceases to amaze me,” Getz said.
Junior Elise Volders, who also competes in the throwing events, was there when Dicken broke the record, and couldn’t be happier for her.
“It happened at a small meet, so it kind of took us all by surprise. There weren’t very many people around to see her do it, but we were all super proud of her. I gave her a hug,” Volders said.
With districts right around the corner, Dicken hopes to break the record again and hopefully place at districts.
