PICKING A BETTER MOMENT than Simon Rosselli did to launch the longest throw of one’s prep career would be no mean feat. Washingtonian Rosselli, a ’26 Mead (Spokane) grad, saved his discus career long for the biggest moment on the final day of the World U20 Championships.
Standing 4th entering the sixth and final round of the comp contested in Hayward Field’s ring, which will be his home turf beginning this fall when he matriculates at Oregon, Rosselli had already PRed twice with all-time list-altering efforts. First he had reached 207-9 (63.32) in round 1 to take the early lead.
With the world’s best teen throwers on hand, though, it was far too early to count his chickens. In round 3, he reached another PR, sending the platter out to 210-6 (64.16), but that was only good for bronze at the end of that frame. Both of Jamaica’s entrants, Joseph Salmon and Kamari Kennedy, had thrown longer. Round 5, with a 214-7 (65.42) toss by Estonia’s Sten-Erik Iir, left Rosselli an inch away from the podium.
The moment, if it was coming, had to be on his final trip into the ring. Rosselli found his groove when it was needed most. His throw flew out to 217-9 (66.39) for gold — and also American U20 and High School Records. None of his three prime rivals exceeded the launch with their last-ditch tries.
In the recordbooks, Rosselli had surpassed by nearly 3-and-a-half feet the 214-4 (65.34) mark put up by then-Colorado prep Mason Finley in August of ’09. Finley, it’s worth noting, went on to win Senior World Championships bronze 8 years later.
“Walking into the ring, I had one more chance,” Rosselli says. “I had nothing to lose. I’ve said it a few times that if it’s going to come down to a competition, I’m taking me every time. I love the competition, I love to compete.”
After round 5, Rosselli had walked to the eastside coaches box to talk with former Washington and Arizona collegiate throws coach TJ Crater, who is now the director of the Iron Wood Throwers Center just a short drive east of Spokane in Rathdrum, Idaho.
This was the first ’26 Rosselli comp that Crater — also the event manager for Spokane’s Podium indoor facility — had been able to attend in person.
“Before I even walked into the ring, I knew I had it,” Rosselli says. “I knew what I needed to change. I knew what I needed to do differently. All I had to do was go out there and execute.
“What [Crater] told me was to drive and relax. To normal people that wouldn’t make much sense. I knew exactly what he meant in the moment and I was able to go out there and get it done.”
The WC week had been an extremely stressful one for Rosselli’s family. They were forced to evacuate their home near the center of the raging Spokane Complex wildfires — and kept communication about the situation minimal to avoid breaking their discus star’s concentration. Not until he walked triumphant into the mixed zone after his win was he informed that the home was still standing, while most of the houses in his neighborhood had not survived the conflagration.
“That’s heavy,” Rosselli says. “Spokane’s gone through a lot but Spokane bands together. That’s what they do. We have friends who aren’t out of danger yet. It’s devastating. Things will turn around. It may not be this year, it may not be next year. But Spokane will be back.”
With the high school implement this season, Rosselli went undefeated after April 05, when he won the Oregon Relays with a throw of 211-7 (64.50).
In his Mead career, Rosselli won three straight Washington 4A discus titles, as well as the State shot crown this season, after finishing 2nd in the shot in ’25. He won the USATF U20 discus title in June and then 2 days later turned around to win Nike Outdoor Nationals with a 225-8 (68.78) PR (HS implement).
The latter mark puts him No. 5 on the HS all-time list behind Ryan Crouser, Finley, Niklas Arrhenius, and Turner Washington.
Crater, who has worked with a number of world-class throwers, including Jordan Geist and Washington, began working with Rosselli in the fall of ’24 at Iron Wood. The transition from throwing the prep platter to the international implement after the State meet was pretty seamless. While Rosselli and his coach weren’t much concerned he might not make the U.S. team, the biggest imperative was developing consistency in his timing before the World Champs.
Crater assesses that Rosselli is ahead of both Geist and Washington at the same stage of their discus careers (although it’s important to note the event was always Geist’s No. 3 focus after the shot and hammer). The coach reveals also that Rosselli has toyed around with the Senior 2kg disc, throwing it around 62m (203-5) in practice, which would put him in NCAA top 10 territory based on the ’26 desscending order list.
Crater says he is excited to see how Rosselli will progress at Oregon next season under the tutelage of Brian Blutreich — and as part of a training group that includes WR holder Mykolas Alekna.
