Brayden Hodgest Taking 'Patient' Journey To Texas Throws Top

Brayden Hodgest competes in the discus at the 2019 Great Southwest Classic

Texas high school track and field is tough. It's hard, The athletes are amongst the best in the nation. The throwers are a big part of that.

Over the years, the top throwers in the state of Texas prove to be some of the best nationally and have even gone on to gain NCAA success.

Here is where Brayden Hodgest enters.

Ever since Hodgest was a freshman, he had aspirations of being one of the best throwers in the state of Texas. When he arrived, there were guys like Adrian Piperi, Gabe Oladipo, Cooper Campbell, Robert Gonzalez, Diego Trevino, and Bobby Smith who were all established big dawgs in Texas throws.

That didn't phase a goal oriented young athlete with big aspirations like Hodgest. He entered the big meets against the big throwers dating all of the way back to his freshman year. He ended up throwing a 47-5 indoor PR for the shot put and 50-10 outdoors.

Those marks are good, especially for a freshman, but in the world of Texas throwers, that's just scratching the surface.

The ambition and drive that Hodgest possessed would eventually see him break through and climb to the levels he desired. As a sophomore he improved enough to qualify for the UIL 5A state meet where he finished second and eventually ended up with a 56-2.75 PR.

Last year, as a junior, he continued to climb up the ranks with his throwing. He ended up throwing a 57-9 PR in the shot put and 169-6 in the discus, both for PRs and another shot put runner-up in the state meet shot put. Hodgest knows exactly what to attribute his growth to, "It's been a long one (journey), I guess the biggest thing is just being patient and over the years progressing more and more."

Brayden Hodgest interviews after winning the Texas A&M shot put

Now, that many of the throwers that Hodgest spent three years battling at every big meet have graduated, he is one of the last men standing in the throws. But, there are still plenty of big time throwers this year.

That hasn't phased him as he has started his 2020 season off in the best possible fashion. Hodgest won the 2020 Texas A&M High School Indoor Classic against many of the best throwers in the state. He did it with a huge 58-11 shot put indoor PR. The winners of the Texas A&M meet in the last six years have gone on to win the UIL 5A or 6A state championship. 

That's a great sign for Hodgest who has just one more thing to accomplish and that's to win a state title. "It's good, it's exciting. It's a long line of winners who have gone on to do good things, the Piperi brothers and Gabe Oladipo, different people. It's very enlightening to know that I can do the same thing, so hopefully I can be the next one to pull it off," Hodgest said.

He followed that up with another win this past weekend at the Arkansas High School Invitational. That is ironic and big in itself as Hodgest has signed to compete for the University of Arkansas the next four years.

With a full season of competing and goal chasing left to do, Hodgest is neither taking it lightly nor backing down. "The biggest thing is just letting them know, I'm here now, I'm not backing down. My mindset is different, I've been training harder and I'm coming out and I'm going to progress each week. I'm not backing down from any competition."