H.M. King High School Senior David Lewis finished fifth overall in the Shot Put competition of the University Interscholastic League state meet held in Austin late last week.

At state, Lewis’ distances were 50’-09.25”, 52’-02.50”, 52’- 11”, 47’-06.75” and 50-08’.50”

In weeks prior, Lewis captured the Region IV title (with a throw of 56’-3.5”) at a meet held in San Antonio in early May, and seized the District 31-4A crown (with a throw of 56’-6.5”) at a meet held in Calallen in mid April.

“He has improved all year long, he had a little standstill in the middle of the season but that was just a little period of getting used to things, but he definitely improved at both the district and regional meets,” Head Coach Eddie Rios Jr. said. “What he did in setting both school and personal records made this whole season marvelous for him.”

Rios said he was pleased with Lewis’ performance in Austin amongst the state’s elite.

“It was tough, but something I know David could handle,” Rios said. “The eventual state champion was someone in our district whom David had beaten all year long - and that kid had very good throws at state - and David was also capable of that and can hang in there with the best of them.”

Lewis making it to state is a noteworthy accomplishment when you consider that H.M. King has not had a qualifier since 1995.

“It’s big, because first of all our district is tough enough on its own,” Rios said. “It’s tough to get out of our district and those who move on to region usually advance to state.”

With graduation a couple of weeks away, Lewis’ departure will leave a void for H.M. King athletics.

“It definitely creates a hole because David always worked out pretty tough,” Rios said. “He got out there, didn’t let things bother him, worked harder than pretty much everyone else, was always in the weight room, always running and doing whatever he needed to get better. We’ll find people like that but you are going to miss someone like David who was a leader through example.”