Apr 22, 2026 4 min read

Name: Carter Frank

Grade: Freshman

School: California

Sport: Track and field

Frank’s week: When Frank released the discus last Wednesday, it didn’t feel like his best throw, but once he started walking out to pick it up, he knew it was good.

It turned out to be a record-breaking attempt.

Frank broke the California discus record with a throw of 131 feet, 8 inches in a track and field meet with West Greene.

The previous record was set in 2019 by Clayton Watson at 128-6.

“When it came out of my hands I didn’t think it was the best throw,” Frank said. “When it went through the air it looked pretty good, but off the release it didn’t feel right. When I went out there to retrieve my disc that’s when I knew it was a really good throw.”

California throwing coach Jeff Orgodowski let Frank know he had broken the record. Frank had already set the middle school record for discus and shot put. To break a record in his first year of high school was a special moment.

“It’s pretty cool,” Frank said. “I had a goal to get close to it this year and when I broke it, I felt like I accomplished that goal and was pretty proud of myself.”

Frank started to feel like he could break the record in his second meet of the season. He threw to 113 feet, which gave him the optimism needed to go after the school record.

“At that point I just wanted to get close to the record,” Frank said. “I was like 15 feet off and my original goal was to whittle that down to two feet by the end of the season.”

Becoming a thrower: Frank grew up playing football and basketball, but also watching his sister participate in track meets. He was encouraged to try track, but wasn’t sure if he wanted to run every day. Field events became the perfect balance.

“I was running with some of my friends one day and they let me know that running probably wasn’t for me and that I should try throwing,” Frank said. “I went over and threw, and it was the most fun I ever had. After that I knew I had to stick with it.”

Frank started to dedicate a lot of time to build up his skill throwing a disc.

“My coach (Orgodowski) is awesome,” Frank said. “He taught me from the basics all the way up to spinning. In my seventh grade year, he had me just using a power throw. Then in eighth grade, I started doing half-spin and then eventually three-quarter spin. That helped me build up to a full spin.”

County debut: On Friday, Frank will enter his first Washington-Greene County Coaches Association track meet at Canon-McMillan. It’ll be a good test for the freshman to see how he stacks against the best throwers in the area, including ones from bigger schools than California.

“I’m just looking to throw as good as I can, not over-thinking it too much, and get a mark out there early and go from there,” Frank said. “It’s going to be a great learning experience to throw against better competition and maybe pick up some pointers that other people tell me.”

Farm strength: Some of the power Frank gets behind his throws can probably be attributed to his work on his family’s farm. When he isn’t participating in sports he likely is somewhere on the farm completing a task.

“I just like working on the farm to be honest,” Frank said. “I set posts and ride fence lines. I’m more of an electrical guy with farm work. I like helping my pap fix the tractor.”

Complied by Jerin Steele