Springfield student who uses wheelchair wins state title

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A student at Springfield High School has placed third in the state for seated shot put - a sport that involves throwing a heavy ball as far as possible.

Jayden Marstella is making history at her school as she is the first student who uses a wheelchair to compete and win at a state track meet, and now with a new wheelchair, she’s hoping to go further.

“I’m very excited to use it and very glad that they got it for us,” Marstella said.

She is new to shot put, and at first, she wasn’t sure if the sport was right for her.

“I really wasn’t big into sports. After a while they were like ‘we’re going to get you to throw’ so here I am,” Marstella said.

With encouragement from her coaches and family, Marstella decided to compete and not only did she compete, but she won.

She said, “Wel, it was really exciting. Very exciting to get that far and to win.”

Her father, Justin Marstella, who is also a track coach at Springfield, got emotional when talking about his daughter’s big win at state.

“It’s a blessing. We give all credit to God. He blessed us with Jayden.”

Justin said his daughter, though wheelchair-bound, competes right alongside other competitors.

“We’d kind of been coaxing her along and sure enough we qualified,” he said.

At first, she was practicing from her wheelchair, which had its challenges.

The team ended up having to borrow a chair from Columbus Sports, making all the difference.

“The higher the thrower, the trajectory is farther. Starting out she was just throwing from her wheelchair,” Justin said.

Come next season, Jayden won’t have to borrow a chair thanks to the donation of a $1,600 custom chair from Spralding Welding Co. in Springboro.

“I’m very excited to hopefully put it out there and get other people to do it,” Jayden said.

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