O-R Athlete of the Week: Jonah Pfender, Fort Cherry
Name: Jonah Pfender
Grade: Senior
School: Fort Cherry
Sport: Track and field
Pfender’s week: It was a moment a few years in the making for Pfender at the WPIAL Track & Field Championships last Wednesday at Slippery Rock University. He left with two gold medals and a new WPIAL record.
Pfender won the discus, setting a WPIAL mark at 176-7, and took home the shot put title. The previous record was 171-2 set in 2022 by Shenango’s Will Patton.
He was second in shot put last year and fifth in discus.
Afterwards the memories of all the preparation he put in leading up to the moment were at the forefront of his thoughts.
“I’m really proud of the work I put in,” Pfender said. “It’s not really the moment that’s catching up with me, it’s more the memories of all the hard times I pushed through during my training. It’s almost overwhelming to me about how much work I put in over the past year to be where I am now.”
Pfender’s triumph was part of a banner day for Fort Cherry that included a title defense by the boys 400-meter relay team and a javelin title for Sophia Holmes. In total, the Rangers won eight gold medals and four events.
Mechanical mind: Pfender will continue his track and field career at the Colorado School of Mines, a Division II school west of Denver. Colorado School of Mines is one of the top engineering schools in the country
“It’s highly rated and one of a few schools in America that offers only engineering programs,” Pfender said.
Part of his progression to becoming a college athlete was a change in technique from a gliding motion to a spinning motion leading up to a throw. That’s a major part of the work he focused on improving.
“Any thrower will tell you that going from gliding to spinning is not easy at all,” Pfender said. “Spinning is what college coaches want you to do.”
Ready for states: Pfender will take the momentum from WPIALs and go up against the best in the state this weekend in the PIAA Class 2A Championships Friday at Shippensburg. He’ll look to cap his career with a state gold or two in his final high school meet before he moves on to college.
“I just have to reset my mind going into (states),” Pfender said. “That’s a whole different level. You just have to keep climbing until you get to the top of the mountain. You want to celebrate (WPIALs) but also look at it and see what you want to fix in your form, technique and throwing to feel as prepared as possible. The other thing I want to do is enjoy it, because it will be my last state meet. I’m really excited for it. My biggest goal is to enjoy my last week of high school track and do my best at states. Whatever comes out of it, comes out of it. That’s really all I can say about it.”
Compiled by Jerin Steele