Evan Blaire Recaps Throwing Career

Evan Blaire is a graduate of Hickory High and Auburn University where he enjoyed success throwing shot put for the Hornets and the Tigers.

Growing up, Blaire was an athlete who found success in football, basketball, and track and field, but decided during high school he wanted to focus on becoming the best thrower he could be. The hard work and dedication to his craft paid off in the form of three PIAA state titles and three PIAA silver medals for indoor, only losing to the number one thrower in the nation in Jordan Geist.

He stands as the Hickory High record holder in shot put and placed fourth at the 2017 New Balance Indoor Nationals, earning him All-American honors.

He chose Auburn over a collection of schools because of the “Auburn Family” aspect, the small town feel of the campus, and for the opportunity to compete in the SEC. Unfortunately, his time as a college athlete ended on a tough note as COVID-19 derailed a promising 2020 campaign for the Mercer County product.

Despite an ending to his college career out of his control, he can be proud of an 11th place finish in the SEC and qualifying for the NCAA East Regional meet. He narrowly missed out on a trip to the NCAA Track and Field Championships in his freshman season in discus.

What Blaire can be proud of is finishing an education in just three calendar years as he finished his Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with a minor in Sports Coaching. Presently, he is working as a corrections officer and is studying to become a certified strength coach. He also plans to get back into discus throwing to end his career on a positive note and then begin a career in coaching to inspire a new generation like his late high school coach, Keith Woods.

Blaire pictured with Coach Woods. Photo submitted.

After his time at Auburn, Blaire needed labrum surgery which kept him out of action for almost six months. He said this about the sour ending to his time as a Tiger. “I have no regrets and just lost out because of some injuries and forwent some eligibility.”

Photo submitted.

Some interesting facts about Evan include he is not the only college athlete in his family as his older sister, Cailen, competed at Gardner-Webb University as a thrower. He also graduated high school at just 17 years old and his favorite athlete of all-time is Tom Brady. In terms of who he looks up to as a competitor, that would be Joe Kovacs, an Olympic thrower who competed for Penn State and earned a silver medal in shot put in Tokyo this summer.

Best of luck as you work towards your goals of entering the coaching profession, Evan! Thank you for the chance to recap your journey 💪🏻