Baker School junior Will Sloan is a state champion.
Sloan won the Class 1A state javelin title on Wednesday at UNF Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, launching a throw of 204 feet, 9 inches (62.40 meters) to set a new Florida state record for Class 1A and the state series. He is currently ranked No. 24 in the nation.
The previous Class 1A record of 193 feet, 2 inches had stood since 2021, when Nicholas Veynovich set the mark. Sloan broke it on his very first throw of the finals, launching 195 feet, 11 inches. Then on his second attempt, he shattered his own freshly set record with the 204-8 mark that held up as the winning throw.
All four of Sloan’s throws in the finals landed between 190 and 205 feet. His winning mark cleared second-place finisher Baker Costar of Geneva School by more than 13 feet.
Baker teammate Declan Crawford, a senior, also competed in the state final, finishing 14th with a mark of 144 feet, 8 inches.
The state title comes one year after Sloan finished as the Class 1A state runner-up. In an interview with Get The Coast earlier this season, Sloan said the experience shaped his approach heading into this year.
- “I just trusted in my practicing and knew that it would all come together,” Sloan said.
Sloan entered the state meet ranked No. 1 in Class 1A and No. 5 overall in the state. In the weeks leading up to the postseason, he swept all three meets he entered in a single week, with every throw clearing 180 feet. His personal best at the time sat at 180 feet, 10 inches. He said then that he believed 200 feet was within reach.
“I’ve been very consistent lately,” Sloan said. “I just know it’s coming eventually.”
He eclipsed that mark by nearly five feet on the biggest stage of the season.
Sloan’s path to javelin began as a freshman when Baker throwing coach Dustin Oglesby saw potential in his baseball arm and encouraged him to try the event. He picked it up about a month before the season.
His head coach, Terry Kersey, said earlier this season that Sloan’s year-round training and coachability set him apart.
“It’s not like, oh, track season’s rolled around, I guess I better pick up the javelin,” Kersey said. “This is a year-round thing for him.”
Kersey added at the time that he believed this was Sloan’s year.
“He really is chasing a ring,” Kersey said. “And if you’ve got somebody like that, there’s no doubt they can get to that point. I think this is the year. I really do.”
Off the field, Sloan is an honor student and Beta Club member at Baker, one of two K-through-12 schools in Okaloosa County. He has aspirations of studying civil engineering and competing in track and field at the Division I level.
With one year of eligibility remaining, the new state record holder will return to Baker next season as a senior.
