Throughout a bumpy 2025, Trey Knight mentioned he has seen glimpses of what he can do within the hammer throw.
Now the Ridgefield Excessive Faculty graduate get a glimpse of what it’s prefer to compete within the World Athletics Championships.
Knight positioned second within the males’s hammer Thursday on the USA Observe and Discipline Championships in Eugene, Ore., with a throw of 78.76 meters (258 toes, 5 inches) on his last effort.
That non-public-best effort earned Knight not solely the silver medal, but additionally exceeded the qualifying commonplace of 77.50 for the world championships, which shall be held Sept. 13-21 in Tokyo.
“It’s actually unreal,” Knight informed Paul Hof-Mahoney of Citiusmag.com. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I started the hammer. Like I want to go to the Olympics. I want to make Worlds team. … It’s just everything I’ve dreamed of kind of coming true. And it’s really cool. It’s really amazing.”
Knight, 23, opened Thursday’s competitors with fouls on his first two throws. His third throw of 74.56 put him in eighth place, incomes one of many eight spots within the finals
His fourth throw of 75.29 moved him as much as sixth place.
After a foul on his fifth try, Knight moved as much as second place on sixth and last try.
“When it left my hands, I knew,” Knight mentioned. “I was like this could be something big.”
Rudy Winkler gained the occasion at 81.47, adopted by Knight after which Daniel Haugh (77.28).
Knight was a three-time Gatorade state highschool observe and discipline athlete of the 12 months at Ridgefield (2018-2020), setting a nationwide highschool report within the hammer throw of 261-7 in June 2020, breaking the earlier report held by Winkler, a 2016 Olympian.
The highschool hammer weight is 12 kilos, in comparison with 16 kilos for faculty and worldwide competitions.
Knight spent two seasons competing for USC earlier than transferring to Cal State Northridge the place he was a two-time Large West Convention champion within the hammer in 2024 and 2025.
He broke the CSUN faculty report in March with a throw of 77.91.
However an up-and-down faculty season ended with Knight fouling out on the NCAA West Regionals in Could after incomes All-America standing in 2024.
Knight bounced again to throw a brand new private better of 78.15 on the Portland Observe Pageant on June 15, setting the stage for Thursday.
“It’s been a rocky journey on the road to Tokyo, but today made it all worthwhile,” mentioned Dan Lange, CSUN throws coach. “I couldn’t be more proud of Trey for having the strength and courage it took to make this happen.”
Knight credited his help group, his coach and his household, for choosing his spirits again up and retaining him going.
“I just think back to my mom and my dad posting things, sharing my journey with Ridgefield,” Knight informed Citiusmag.com. “And my mother will ship me folks’s feedback. So like I do know I’ve a complete metropolis, a complete city, so many individuals who like imagine in me.
“Once in a while, you put that into perspective and just think about it, you’re like it’s not so bad.”
