POPLAR RIDGE - Miriam Larson-Koester is many things. A talented musician, consistent honor roll student and a fine athlete are a few. And after Friday's competition in Dryden, the junior is the new IAC champion in the discus throw.

Though she wasn't always considered a great athlete, Larson-Koester has quietly made a name for herself in Section IV track and field. Also a soccer player, she has been a participant in mostly field events since seventh grade.

“Miriam was never the kind of kid that other kids would see as an athlete,” Southern Cayuga track and field coach Bill Mullarney said. “She was a tremendous student, one of the best in her class, but she wasn't athletic. She started to play soccer, then she worked in basketball, but she wasn't as good at those things. She started to like the discus and started working on it.”

While many kids her age might accept their lack of athletic ability and find something else, Larson-Koester turned herself into one. She started by borrowing equipment from Mullarney for a while so she could practice throwing on her own.

“I just worked at it,” Larson-Koester said. “That's the difference, and track really saved me. I wasn't fast, I couldn't run in middle school, but I tried out for it because the coach wanted me to. And when I tried discus, I fell in love with it and that kept me running, which got me into running track and doing a lot more.”

That led her to the state qualifying meet last season. From there, where she threw 95 feet to earn a spot in the finals as one of two sophomores competing, Larson-Koester has been steadily breaking her own school record.

“This year has been her biggest improvement of all her years,” Mullarney said. “She threw over 90 feet when she was a freshman, 96 feet as a sophomore but to get 109-7 this year is tremendous.”

That mark earned her the IAC Championship over contenders from 17 other teams. The throw was almost 4 feet farther than runner-up Danielle Roberts of Candor. That was after she chucked the disc a record-breaking 105-1 in the preliminary round.

“I just tried to do what I'd done to get the 105,” Larson-Koester said. “I focused, walked inside and thought about it. I just sort of got into what I was going to do.”

“She just got in there and let the thing rip,” Mullarney added. “It wasn't a real high throw, but when the guy said 109 feet, she was ecstatic. That's the kind of thing she's able to do now.”

It became almost a side note that she also took fifth place in another event, the shot put with a throw of 31-4.

“That's not even her best event, but she tied our school record in that too,” Mullarney said.

To understand how Larson-Koester got to such a successful point in such a short amount of time, you'd have to understand the commitment she has to everything she does. As one of the best students in her class, Larson-Koester also takes courses at Wells College and has been all-state for music. The trombone player has played in the Auburn Chamber Orchestra as well.

“There is only one girl in all of Section IV that has a throw further than hers,” Mullarney said. “She's a diligent trainer who people will say that her form is excellent, but it's because she practices so meticulously. She has a really smooth spin and works hard at her release, but part of it this year is her focusing in the weight room to get stronger. She's in there several days a week, mixing running workouts with it.”

Also helping nudge along her success this year is assistant coach Emilie Bertram, who joined the team this year to give extra focus to the throwers. Even in a short amount of time, the coach can pinpoint what separates Larson-Koester.

“Determination,” she said. “She works extremely hard. She's up here working above and beyond what the average high school thrower will do. She'll come here on weekends and throw and videotape herself to see her tendencies. She'll listen to any little advise that I offer her and she'll do anything to get better.”

Larson-Koester will get a chance to better her 2006 state qualifying performance at Union-Endicott on May 31. For now, as her name is being quietly plastered all over the school record books, her coach is just fine with her anonymity across the section though it isn't likely to last much longer.

“Track first of all, isn't that noticeable,” Mullarney said. “But throwers are even less noticeable, but if someone were to ask me who was the best athlete in the school right now, I don't think there would be much doubt about it. She's an athlete that trains, focuses and makes the necessary sacrifices. She takes care of herself, she's disciplined, she works hard at what she does and she's more successful than anybody else, in my opinion. It's hard to argue with her results.”