His Hen Hud teammate, Mike Gabrielsen, had a throw land 162 feet, 5 inches away, good for sixth place.
Now the 47th edition of the Games is about to begin. Gabrielsen has closed the gap on O’Brien in their final high school season. O’Brien’s season best is 187-11 and Gabrielsen’s is 185-1. So these two seniors can both think about landing in a high place on the medal stand after competing Saturday morning.
“Last year, I didn’t really do as well as I wanted to,” Gabrielsen said. “This year, I’m doing much better.”
“I’d say my goal is really just to do my best and win,” O’Brien said. “If the record happens, that would be great. Two hundred, regardless of where I throw, is really the goal. I feel like that’s a really huge benchmark in high school.”
There will be 242 high schools and 353 boys and girls teams represented at the prestigious meet that runs Thursday through Saturday. The schools are primarily from the Northeast, although there’s one from Virginia and another from Quebec coming. Total athlete count: 3,134.
“The competition is good,” Gabrielsen said, “but I always prefer the better competition because it just forces me to do my best and really just work as hard as I can.”
The two Sailors are still going to be javelin-throwing teammates after this season because they’re both going to be competing for Army.
“It’s pretty awesome,” O’Brien said. “I’m not going to lie. I decided on West Point a little bit earlier, around September. By that time, Mike was already looking into it and kind of in the process of getting in. So it was a suspenseful couple of months whether he was going to be my teammate at Army or my archrival at Navy. But I’m glad with the outcome for sure.”
Gabrielsen is the son of a Croton police detective and the grandson of two former military men. He knew West Point was the place for him if he got in.
“I want to serve and benefit our country,” Gabrielsen said. “The service aspect has always been a part of my life through my grandfathers and my dad. I just want to do something like that.”
O’Brien, the son of a West Point grad and former Army major who served in Iraq, chose West Point over Air Force, Stanford and Virginia.
“It’s always been very, very present,” O’Brien said about the military connection. “Even if I went to another school, I was going to do ROTC. So it was military one way or another.
“Nobody can enter West Point saying they’re ready for combat, but that’s what the best military academy in the world is for.”
Gabrielsen comes in at 6-foot-5, 200-pounds, O’Brien at 6-3, 200. Both are former JV football players. The javelin thing worked out well for them.
“I was a quarterback, so throwing kind of came naturally to me,” O’Brien said.
“I just like how it’s always challenging,” Gabrielsen said.
Coach Marcia Bailey likes how they push each other and how hard they work at it.
“And it’s not just work ethic at javelin,” Bailey said. “They’re willing to do whatever it takes to help their team. They teach younger kids how to do events. They’re just fantastic guys. West Point is very lucky to have both of them.”
The 47th Glenn D. Loucks Memorial Track and Field Games
Where: White Plains High
When: Thursday, 5 p.m.; Friday, 3 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.
Opening ceremonies: Saturday, noon-12:45 p.m., former White Plains High principal and meet co-founder Manson Donaghey will be honored.
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