Penn's Mattis soaks in his status as NCAA discus champion

It's been a long time since an Ivy League thrower claimed the discus crown at the NCAA championship meet - 66 years to be exact.

On Friday, Penn's Sam Mattis ended that drought, winning the men's discus event at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field with a throw of 62.48 meters (205 feet, 0 inches). Yale's Victor Frank won the discus in 1949 with a best throw of 168-91/2.

In his first five attempts in the circle, Mattis was maddeningly consistent, throwing for 61 meters each time. Then, on his final throw, something clicked.

"You could see it as soon as it left his hands," Penn throwing coach Tony Tenisci said. "There was so much energy in the discus, and the spin was so strong that everyone knew that that was it, even before it landed because of the velocity of the release."

Mattis was the only athlete in the 24-man final to surpass 62 meters, placing him 22 inches ahead of runner-up Tavis Bailey of Tennessee.

With Friday's win, Mattis set a school record and captured Penn's first individual title since 2003, when the Quakers won two events with Sam Burley in the 800 meters and Brian Chaput in the javelin.

"It still hasn't totally sunk in yet," Mattis said.

The junior's performance in 2015 is a marked improvement over his trip to the NCAAs last year. In 2014, Mattis placed fifth with a throw of 60.33 meters (197-11).

Since the beginning of the 2015 outdoor season, Mattis knew that he wanted to return to Hayward Field come June. But this year, he didn't just want to walk away with all-America honors; he wanted a national title. The challenge would be modifying his already fierce training regimen to give him the extra edge over the nation's best throwers.

"It takes a village," Tenisci said. "This was a collaborative effort."

Throughout the season, Mattis followed the guidance of Tenisci, as well as his father Marlon, a former hammer thrower, and volunteer assistant coach and former Penn thrower Jake Brenza. The trio coordinated a specialized training plan for Mattis, carefully monitoring his workouts both in the circle and in the weight room.

"I didn't really change the intensity," Mattis said. "I just got a little more focused."

That focus helped propel Mattis to his third consecutive Heptagonal discus title back in May and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Eastern Regionals in Jacksonville, Fla., two weeks ago.

None of the accolades and records Mattis accumulated in 2015 are surprising to his coach, however. According to Tenisci, Mattis is a rare athlete in that he possesses equal parts talent and work ethic.

"He's a once-in-a-lifetime athlete to coach."