Owen Proskin was no longer the fresh face at the Nike Indoor Nationals. Being a veteran among the group competing in the pentathlon had its perks for the Plum senior.
Proskin was able to take a better picture of what he was up against.
“It was nice seeing another type of competition,” Proskin said. “I was able to see how I did compared to last year and how I improved.”
The Plum senior, who is committed to Cincinnati, was now a veteran in the group competing in the pentathlon.
Proskin’s chief competitor from last season, Kingston Williams, now competes at Baylor. The athlete who finished in second this year, Vantage Morrison, is a junior.
“It’s nice to have that kind of experience,” Proskin said. “In previous years, it was my first time at a national meet. This time, the higher level of experience played into it. I know my way around the pentathlon and went to warm up again before the events.”
Proskin, who won the event with a score of 3,861 points across five events, is happy to see how he stacks up against different athletes. Morris finished with 3,590 points.
One place where Proskin noticeably improved was in the shotput. He placed sixth last year with a throw of 12.22 meters, while he won the event by throwing 13.65.
“The shot put has been clicking for me during the past few meets,” Proskin said. “That’s what is fun about the multi-event is having a PR in one event. It’s like ‘Wow, I threw really well at nationals.’ I want to start focusing on getting this down.”
Proskin also won the 60-meter run with a time of 8.21 seconds. He finished second in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:54.04, placed second in the high jump with a leap of 1.95 meters and took fourth in the long jump with a distance of 6.5 meters.
Proskin said it helps that he is more comfortable in the environment. Competing in New York City provides a lot of opportunities to do different things.
“Before the meet, we have this ritual now,” Proskin said. “We will go to Little Italy and get some delicious pasta. We will ride the subway down into the city and go to Time Square and get some good food.”
Proskin is hoping to return to the PIAA Class 3A championship meet again this season. Last spring, Proskin qualified for the state meet in the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and the high jump.
Proskin earned a medal in the 110 hurdles, finishing in 14.45 seconds to place fourth overall.
He thinks not having to worry about choosing a college will allow him to continue to improve on time.
“Being committed takes a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Proskin said. “I want to have a chip on my shoulder. I still have something to prove. I’m looking forward to going to the U20 worlds and going out to Oregon to see what I can do there.”