By ED MURPHY
Staff reporter
05/18/2002

FELTON -- Twenty years ago, Terry Thomas set state high school records in the shot put and discus.

No one has come along and done it better, and those marks are now the second-oldest in the record book.

Thomas, who changed his name to Jamah Moswen seven years ago, was at the 59th annual Delaware High School Track and Field Championships on Friday to support his son, Shawn Thomas, during the opening day of competition.

"I never imagined after 20 years those records would still stand," Moswen said. "They serve as an inspiration for other athletes. They chase after them, and in turn, improve their own skills."

Shawn Thomas is one of those chasing his dad's records. The 6-foot, 300-pound senior from Smyrna High won his first Division II title in the shot put with a throw of 52 feet, 8 inches in the qualifying round.

The throw held up through the final round, where Thomas tired and fouled on his last two attempts.

"I threw well in the warmups, but then I started pressing too hard at the back of the circle," Thomas said. "That messed me up. I didn't get the position I wanted.

"The 52-8 was my best throw of the year. I hit 57-0 on my first practice throw. I ran out of gas. After a while, your legs get tired. The rotations make your legs heavy."

Thomas owns the state's top throw in the discus this year with a 169-4 at the Keith S. Burgess Invitational at Lake Forest last month. He'll shoot for his third Division II discus title today.

"I like to throw the discus better. I try to compete against myself," he said. "It's hard to do your best if you compete against other people, although you can get inspiration from them."

Thomas doesn't have far to look for inspiration.

"My dad is a motivator," he said. "I look up to him every day. He gives me tips and helps me with my techniques. I want his name to be in the record books forever."

Moswen's records seem more legendary with each passing year. Competing for Howard High in the early 1980s, he won three state shot put titles and three discus championships.

In 1982, Moswen set the state shot put record with a throw of 64-8 at the Father Judge Relays in Philadelphia. One month later, he established a state record in the discus with a 195-10 at the New Castle County Meet.

Former William Penn thrower Chris White hit 60-5 at the state meet in 1999, the closest anyone has come to the shot put mark.

Moswen threw the shot put more than 60 feet three times in state competition during the 1981 and '82 seasons. In the discus, he hit 190-10 in the state individual finals in '81.

His younger brother, Mark Thomas, also of Howard, won the Division II shot put in 1983 and took the Division I discus in '84.

Shawn Thomas, an All-Henlopen Conference lineman in football, was introduced to track and field at a tender age.

"When Shawn was an infant, he would get in the circle and spin around," Moswen said. "I have a picture of him in a diaper with a discus sitting between his legs. It was a premonition. He just naturally gravitated to the sport.

"Shawn has done most of the work on his own. He has developed his own skills."

Moswen, a clinical director for Delaware Guidance Services, said he introduced the state to the spin move in the circle while competing for Howard.

"I was the first one in the state to spin," he said. "I was amazed how much longer I threw the shot. Everybody in the state changed up.

"Throwing the shot put is all about speed and technique. People think you need brute strength, but you can generate power with speed and technique."

Thomas, who is headed to Delaware State University, began competing in field events as an eighth-grader and proved to be a quick study.

"In the shot put, you have to be in control in the circle," he said. "You have to be a perfectionist. I gradually build up speed until I hit 100 percent at the front of the circle."

Thomas has thrown the discus 29 feet longer than his nearest competitor in Division II this spring, and is favored to capture another gold medal today.

The News Journal/GARY EMEIGH Smyrna High's Shawn Thomas, whose father still holds the state high school record for the shot put, uncorks his Division II-winning effort on Friday. The News Journal/GARY EMEIGH

Smyrna High's Shawn Thomas, whose father still holds the state high school record for the shot put, uncorks his Division II-winning effort on Friday.

 

Jamah Moswen (left) was known as Terry Thomas when he set discus and shot put records that have stood for 20 years. His son, Smyrna's Shawn Thomas, won the Division II shot put on Friday and is going for his third discus title today.