NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- You might not know by looking at him, but Norfolk Academy shot putter Chance Stuart started out his athletic career as a cross country runner in seventh grade.
"I was about 5'3" and 100 lbs," he recalled.
Then, as a sophomore in high school, he hit a growth spurt, gained some weight and discovered a new avenue when it came to his sport of choice.
"I started playing football," Chance remembered. "I have a friend who's over there right now, a current teammate, who convinced me to come out for the throwing team and I've loved it ever since."
"It is never not fun to watch a person do something that they absolutely love," added Norfolk Academy head coach Patrick Fernando. "You could tell from the very early days, even though he was definitely talented, you could tell that he really enjoyed throwing."
Stuart started out as a discus thrower during the outdoor track season of his sophomore year. He spent the following summer focusing on the shot put after consulting with a coach and it didn't take him long for him to get the hang of it. Now a senior, Chance began re-writing the Bulldog record books this past winter, setting a new indoor mark by throwing 58'9.5." That throw was also good enough to win him a national championship.
"Just going from randomly trying track on a whim to breaking a school record was definitely really awesome," Chance smiled. "Getting to see number one next to my name and next to national championship shot put, that definitely felt like a dream."
But he didn't stop there. This past Thursday, Chance hurled the shot put 59'2", shattering the previous outdoor school record by nearly two feet. It was a record that had stood for more than 40 years and the longest standing best performance for the track and field program.
"I really wasn't expecting to do that," recalled the senior. "It was quite warm, I didn't have the best warm-up, but I just got out there and it worked out really well."
Perhaps the thing that stands out to Fernando the most, however, isn't Chance the thrower, it's Chance the person.
"He breaks a school record and then the JV's start throwing and he's out there shagging the shot puts and rolling them for the JV group," the head coach noted. "He's revamped warm-ups for us, for our younger kids."
Stuart will make his way to Lehigh to major in mechanical engineering and continue his track and field career, where he hopes to one day become a national champion at the collegiate level. He's left his mark on Norfolk Academy, one that stretches far beyond records and one that will be felt for decades to come.
"I hope they remember that I wasn't just a good shot putter," he said. "I like to really support our team and be a good contributor to the community we have around here."
Fernando says the program will remember him for those things and so much more.
"Chance is a program lifter, someone that not just our throws program, but our whole track and cross country program will stand on the shoulders of Chance for the rest of its existence."
