Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School senior Mike Alleman may be the defending champion when the high-school shot putters take to Franklin Field on Friday afternoon - but he's not the favorite.
Instead, Nick Vena, a freshman at Morristown High School in Morristown, N.J., is the one drawing all the attention and accolades.
While it may seem strange that a freshman may be the one to take home the title at the Penn Relays, that possibility appears a lot more likely when looking at the previous marks set by Vena.
Over the winter, Vena had a put of 66-7 ¬, which broke the previous national indoor record for freshmen by over six feet. For his efforts, he earned USA Track & Field's athlete of the week honors.
By comparison, Alleman's best put over the winter was an otherwise excellent 63-8 «.
But Vena wasn't done yet. Two weeks ago, he competed at the Kearny Relays in New Jersey.
There, Morristown butted heads with Scotch Plains-Fanwood and won.
Vena put a 63-6 - which broke the outdoor record for 14-year olds set by Kevin Bookout - to lead his team to a victory over Alleman's, by a score of 114-7 to 102-1.
If those numbers aren't fearsome enough, consider Vena's immense size: 6-foot-4, 265 pounds - as big as an NFL linebacker.
But football never attracted him. Shot put has always been his focus. His father, Victor, introduced him to the sport, and Vena started all the way back in the third grade, competing under USATF.
His training schedule is rigorous. Vena has three days of weightlifting, when he focuses on core lifts - benchpress, squats and cleans.
And like a true student of the sport, he spends the rest of his time practicing his technique and watching old videos of shot putters.
Vena has already demonstrated so much promise, and it only helps his cause that his coach is 1996 Team USA Olympic coach Tony Naclerio.
So what may be next for Vena?
He has his eyes set on Michael Carter's high-school record of 81 feet but is still a long way off from approaching that mark.
A Relays title, though, is a good place to start.
