Donovyn Fowler repeats as male track and field athlete of year
Jun. 29—A season doesn't get more dominant than the one Joplin senior Donovyn Fowler put together.
Countless school records broken — mostly his own. A perfect season in both the long jump and triple jump, culminated with two state titles at the MSHSAA Class 5 Track and Field Championships last month in Jefferson City.
A University of Oklahoma signee, Fowler has repeated as the Globe's male track and field athlete of the year — this time for the 2021-22 school year.
"He's an unbelievable athlete," Joplin head coach Nick Reid said. "Honestly, he's probably a once-in-a-coaching-lifetime type of athlete. I'm not sure I'll ever have another 50-foot triple jumper and 25-foot long jumper. So he's definitely special to take gold in every triple jump and long jump event he competed in this year.
"It's a crowning achievement for his whole season and his whole career, really. ... He's never one to shy away from work. He puts in the time and effort, and he does a great job. He's definitely dedicated to his craft."
At state, Fowler won the triple jump with a recorded mark of 15.14 meters (49 feet, 8.25 inches). What stuck out the most to Joplin jump coach, James Spencer, is Fowler's last jump as an Eagle.
Sitting in second place in the long jump, Fowler's best jump was 7.39 meters at the time and trailed only Lee's Summit Josh Manning (7.46).
The last jump was a memorable one.
Fowler ripped off a distance of 7.70 (25-3.25) — jumping so far it was past the furthest mark of where the laser-aimed equipment measured — to capture his second state championship in as many days.
"You could tell, hands down, he was the most talented kid there," Spencer said. "The way he approached that last jump — it gave us a glimpse of what he's going to be doing at Oklahoma next year. It was just awesome to see."
Fowler became the first track and field athlete in Joplin program history to win two state titles in the same year.
His performances helped the Eagles (46 points) place second in the team standings behind only Columbia Rock Bridge (97), marking the program's first state trophy since 1978 when they won the Class 3A title as then-named Memorial High School.
At the Class 5 Sectional 3 meet in Waynesville, Fowler broke his own program record in the long jump as he won the event with a distance of 24-6.50 — fresh off setting the previous mark of 24-5.25 at the Central Ozark Conference meet in early May.
If there's anything else he proved over his decorated career, Fowler wasn't just a jumper. He was a state qualifier in the 200-meter dash as well as the 4x100 relay with Orion Norris, Davin Thomas and Luke Vieselmeyer.
Despite only coaching him a year, Spencer had plenty of times to be wowed by the future OU Sooner throughout the spring campaign.
"Obviously, as everyone knows, Donovyn is a very talented young man that did very well in track and field," Spencer said. "But getting to work with him everyday, you got to see his work ethic and what he put into his craft to do well. Just seeing his businesslike approach everyday was awesome.
"He's a very coachable kid. He was great to work with. He's a kid who's easy to root for because of the way he does things."
