LAKEVILLE, IN. - When you talk to coaches and players, both will tell you that they want to be playing their best down the stretch of the season and into the state tournament.For LaVille's Lucy Sherk and Garrett Wagoner, the goal was in front of them.  All they had to do was execute.And execute they did!Sherk won the 2022 Mishawaka Sectional Shot Put Championship following a toss of 34-feet, 8-inches.Wagoner, after securing a spot in the regional, threw 49-feet, 3-inches to claim the 2022 Penn Sectional Shot Put Championship."There was a lot of good competition at sectionals this year," said Sherk.  "I was ranked second going into the competition, and I knew that I needed to PR if I wanted to win. My throwing hadn't been where I wanted it to be and I knew if I wanted to make it to regionals I needed to start putting all the pieces together to get a good throw in." According to Sherk, a lot of work went into the form and technique over the last year."My throws at sectional finally felt right," explained Sherk.  "Coach (Issac) Eash had the throwers, over the summer, change the technique that we had been doing for all the years in track. This would help us improve more and be able to do things like win sectionals. At first, I wasn't super on board with the idea because my old technique had lots of success. He worked with us all summer, some in the fall, and all season. It finally started to feel more comfortable. When it comes to throwing, I can feel whether or not the throw is going to be a good one or not. All of my throws felt really good for a change. I was constantly in the 30s. My old PR was 33-feet, 9-inches. Before we hit the finals the girl from Penn threw 34-feet, 3-inches, so I knew I needed a good PR if I was going to win. Right after she threw, I threw 34 feet 8 inches and that was the throw I was able to win with. A few other girls threw 32 feet and 33 feet, but no one else was able to get close to 34-feet, 8-inches. What was nice in the finals was if you're first you get to throw last. After the girl from Penn threw her last throw of the night, I knew I had won and I could just go out there and try to PR again without any pressure."For Wagoner, he was able to get off a big throw on his last toss in the finals to earn the championship."I didn’t throw great in the prelim round so I was behind going into the finals.," said Wagoner. "My second to last throw was 47-feet, 11-inches.  I finally got back in front with that throw. Then in the final round, a senior from Penn threw 48-feet, 5-inches which put me in second overall. I knew my spot in the Regional was secured so I had nothing to lose. I then threw a 49-feet, 3-inches to win the Sectional." When asked how gratifying it is for them to come from a small school into a field of athletes representing a variety of enrollments and win a sectional championship, both Sherk and Wagoner were excited. "It's a great feeling to be around all of the big schools and be able to win even though I come from a small school," said Sherk.  "I had watched two girls from Penn advance to regionals in discus and one of the same girls threw the shot put too.  She threw a PR for herself and I knew that if I wanted to win I had to throw a PR, too. Coming from LaVille, people don't really expect you to win against the big schools like Penn, South Bend Washington, South Bend Adams, and South Bend Saint Joseph. But being able to overcome that stereotype makes you feel really accomplished." Wagoner said: "Honestly that's the best part.  The fact that we travel up there and face that type of competition first hand."A total of 12 schools competed at the sectional level in the state track and field tournament and now LaVille has the 2022 Shot Put Champion."I felt very happy about my accomplishments especially as I said before this is my first year throwing with a new technique," explained Sherk.  "At first, I didn't see the results I wanted to see.  I wanted to switch back to my old technique but Coach Eash kept helping me and encouraging me to keep trying. After the Hoosier North Athletic Conference Championships last week I was a little discouraged because I didn't get the results that I wanted and knew that I could get.  So, I really focused on the things I was struggling with at practice so that I didn't get those results again.  That made winning feel even better because I proved to myself that I could do what I told myself I could at the beginning of the season."I felt that I had thrown better toward the end of the season," continued Sherk. "But I definitely have to say my best throwing was at sectionals. But that's what you work all season for. The main goal is always sectionals and to be able to perform my best at sectionals was such a relief. I worked all season to get another sectional title and now that I have got that it pushes me to want to get to the next level and accomplish that as well." Winning the sectional was on Wagoner's bucket list and he felt like he had a good chance. "Competition in every event in the sectional is top notch," said Wagoner. "I knew that winning the sectional was very doable weeks ago. But I thought that a throw of around 48 feet would have won the event. "I feel great knowing that I am showing what can be done from a small school," continued Wagoner. "All this happened from great coaching from Isacc Eash and a competitive mindset. I tend to throw better when the level of competition is high."