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Coldwater’s Targgart heads to South Carolina to throw after winning Gatorade State Player of the Year award
Dylan Targgart threw a career-best 69-4.25 throw in the shot put while competing at the New Balance Nationals in 2019. (Courtesy: Jennifer Targgart)

Coldwater’s Targgart heads to South Carolina to throw after winning Gatorade State Player of the Year award

COLDWATER, Mich. (BVM) — Dylan Targgart was a multi-sport star at Coldwater High School. In the fall, Targgart shined on the football field as a linebacker, and in the winter he was one of the best players on the basketball court. In the spring, the 18-year-old competed in track and field, and excelled in two of the more uncommon events in the sport.

Targgart is a discus and shot put thrower, and has developed into one of the best the state of Michigan has seen. After winning multiple state championships in both competitions while also emerging on the national scene, Targgart became a highly-sought after college recruit. Although his prep career may not have ended the way he wanted it to, he still took home the Gatorade Michigan Boys Track and Field Player of the Year award this summer.

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound athlete played multiple sports growing up, but did not start throwing shot put until seventh grade, and would not throw a discus until high school. Watching his two older brothers excel in shot put and discus, Targgart was excited to get to try it himself.

Just a year or so after beginning with the shot put, Targgart quickly realized his potential. A throw he made which flew over 50 feet would set a middle school record, and he went undefeated in meets during his eighth grade year.

As he entered Coldwater High School as a freshman, Targgart decided to continue with his main sports of football and basketball in addition to track and field. Being a three-sport athlete over the last four years is something the 18-year-old takes pride in.

“I’m thrilled to be a multi-sport athlete because I think playing different sports is so advantageous,” Targgart said. “I’m glad I could represent that to an extent.”

During his senior year, Targgart was even honored by the Michigan High School Coaches Association with the Rich Tompkins Multi-Sport Award, recognizing his success across all three athletics. 

To say Targgart had a successful high school athletic career might be an understatement. The Coldwater grad played three seasons of varsity football for the Cardinals, initially playing offensive tackle and defensive end. But in his final two years he would transition to tight end and linebacker, becoming an all-state honorable mention player on the defensive side of the ball.

The three-sport athlete spent all four years on the varsity basketball team at Coldwater, playing primarily in the post. Targgart helped his team to two conference and district championships over his time with the Cardinals. Individually, Targgart again earned all-state honorable mention while becoming just the fourth player at Coldwater to break the 1,000-point barrier, scoring 1,140 points over his four years. 

“From a young age that was always one of my biggest goals,” Targgart said about scoring over 1,000 points in high school. “Growing up I always played basketball and it was my favorite sport so I always dreamed about doing that. It felt really good and it was just nice to see all the hard work pay off.”

But as he continued through his high school career, track and field became the main sport for the Coldwater grad. Going into his freshman season, Targgart joined a deep team but broke onto the scene, making it to state in both the shot put and discus – placing in fifth in the latter.

By his sophomore year, Targgart established himself as a dominant force in both events. After such a good finish at state in the discus the prior season, Targgart expected to compete for a state title in that event. However, he was not as confident in the shot put, where he transitioned his throwing style from gliding to spinning.

But the new form would turn out beneficial for Targgart, who set a personal record shot put throw, leading him to a MHSAA state championship in the event. Targgart would also win a state title with the discus, capping a special sophomore year.

“It was really sweet and really awesome,” Targgart said about the state titles. “In discus that was my goal, but shot put I wasn’t expecting to win at all.”

In his junior season, Targgart would improve even further, going undefeated in the pits in both shot put and discus, while again taking home state titles in each event.

“I was really proud to be able to do that,” Targgart said about going back-to-back. “These two were a little bit sweeter because it always seems to be harder to defend a state title than win it for the first time.”

In 2019, Targgart also broke through on the national scene. Competing in the New Balance Nationals, the 6-foot-3 thrower heaved a career-best 69-4.25 throw in the shot put. The throw — ranked No. 3 nationally among preps last spring — led Targgart to win the event, an accomplishment he is very proud of.

“It was an awesome experience,” the Coldwater grad said. “I really just wanted to go to that meet to get some experience for the next year and wasn’t sure how well I’d stack up against the competition. But I competed well, threw well and won the thing. It was a great atmosphere and ended up being a great meet.”

Targgart’s senior outdoor track and field season would be canceled this spring. But he made more waves before that in the Michigan Indoor Track Series championships over the winter. At the event, Targgart would complete throws of 175-5 in the discus, and 65-6 in the shot put. Both throws ranked No. 1 in the country among high school throwers during the indoor season.

Overall, Targgart left quite a legacy at Coldwater despite the cancellation of his senior season, and hopes his impact went beyond just sport.

“More than anything I hope that people will know how hard I worked to accomplish what I did and know that they can do the same,” Targgart said. “I hope that people see me more as just an athlete too.”

The 18-year-old also knows his career would have never taken off how it has without the tutelage of long-time family friend and coach Mike McConnell.

“He’s meant so much to me,” Targgart said. “He’s a phenomenal coach, maybe even the best in the whole state. I would not be anywhere near where I am if not for him.”

In June, a perfect cap was put on Targgart’s prep career after he was named Gatorade Michigan Boys Track and Field Player of the Year. 

“I was really thrilled about winning the award and wasn’t sure how it would work without having a senior season,” Targgart said. “I wasn’t expecting to win but was super happy that I did and will always be proud of that.”

The honor was also awarded to Targgart in part due to what he does outside of athletics. An AP scholar at Coldwater, the 18-year-old completed his high school career with a weighted 4.29 GPA. 

Targgart has also found time to give back to his community, notably with his local food pantry on holidays, handing out meals to those in need. He has also volunteered his time to read to local elementary school students.

In the fall, Targgart will officially start his tenure at the University of South Carolina. The track and field standout went on visits to several schools including Kentucky, Auburn, Arizona, Michigan, and Tennessee. But the Gamecocks won out as Targgart felt at home on the campus and also felt a perfect fit with his future coach and teammates in the track program.

“I’m really excited to get down there,” Targgart said. “I was really proud to be a multi-sport athlete during high school but now I’m excited to be able to focus on track all year long and see where that will take me.”

Targgart is still setting goals to accomplish for his time at South Carolina. But his ultimate goal beyond college is to become an Olympic athlete. It will take a lot of time and effort, but if anyone can accomplish that, it might just be the soon-to-be Gamecock.

“Competing in the Olympics is the end goal and I’ve dreamed about that for a long time now,” Targgart said. “We’ll find out how plausible that is and see what happens over the next couple years.”