Linkesh brings hardware back to Mathews
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DAYTON - After having to battle through the flu during the regional round at Norwayne, Mathews junior Joseph Linkesh found himself in the first flight of the Division III shot put, being one of the first to compete in the OHSAA state track and field meet. Advancing to the finals with a mark of 53-11, that toss was also the one that earned him fifth place on the podium.
Linkesh became the first Mustang to return to the Mahoning Valley with a medal since Kenny Wallace earned third place in the 1600 in 2017.
"Just didn't have a good meet (at regionals), so it kind of carried onto state, kind of had a bad feeling, I caught the flu, just unfortunate," Linkesh said. "I'm just glad to be here right now on the podium. I love these guys, but at the same time when I'm throwing, I hate them. I just want to beat them; it's how I am."
"Track, especially the field events, are very competitive," he added. "It's way more mental than physical. If you have one bad throw, you have a high chance of getting down on yourself, so you really have to prevent that by keeping your head up and your chin up."
Linkesh had experience at the state level, placing 14th in the discus last June. Having a good handle on what the state meet is like was beneficial for the Mathews junior.
"I was very fortunate to make state as a sophomore (last year), one of only a handful, but I was more nervous at regionals than I was here. When you're at regionals it's all or nothing, I've been here before, so I had no nerves even after a bad meet," Linkesh said. "I treated my disc throw as a secondary event, especially after my indoor performance. I had a very good indoor year, I kind of just pushed away disc, which is something I very much regret, so I just have to bounce back my senior year."
Linkesh was seventh at the indoor state meet up at SPIRE earlier in the year, marking a 53-08.75 in the shot put.
"In shot, I just think I'm more built for it. Kind of short, not the lankiest, pretty stocky. It's all form, it's all strength, whereas with disc it's technique, speed, and balance," Linkesh said.
Linkesh has been throwing since his eighth grade year and also plays football. During that spring season, he hit 129 feet in the discus, seeing he had the potential to be a field athlete. Continuing through high school, he sustained two concussions on the gridiron during a four-game span, leading to him hanging up the pads in exchange for the throwing ring for good.
"I was pretty good at football, but you have to realize which one you want to do in college, and it's definitely throwing. It was absolutely a sacrifice because I love football since I started playing in eighth grade, but I'm decent enough to throw in college, and I had to realize which one I loved more, fortunately, getting rid of football. I did have more time to train for track which I think really helped my season," Linkesh said. "Very small school, lowest division in all sports, but it's such a surreal feeling. Everyone has your back here, everyone knows everyone, everyone is family to you, it's just great."
"I got a clap out on the last day of school after I left here, it was great."
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