By Daniel Dunaief

At competitions in which she sets new marks for excellence, Jillian Scully surpasses everything but her own expectations.

In the last few weeks of her senior year of high school in Miller Place, Scully, 18, has bested the previous state record for throws in the discus, which held for 33 years, no fewer than three times, and hopes to do so again in her few remaining meets.

On June 5 at Comsewogue High School in the state qualifiers, Scully defied gravity and distance yet again, propelling the discus 10 feet further than her record-shattering throw from just a few weeks earlier. Scully now owns the top three longest throws in the state and has the current top rank in the country in high school discus.

Bill Hiney, who has been working with Scully for four years, recognized that her effort last week had the potential to set another record “as soon as I saw the height and as soon as I saw how fast it came out of her hand.”

Indeed, Hiney shot his arms up in the air while officials scampered to measure the distance.

Officials were “running backwards to put the mark down,” said Hiney, who is the Assistant Track and Field Coach during the winter and spring season at Southold High School.

“I’m thinking, ‘Oh, this is big,’” Hiney said. Hiney yelled to make sure they used steel rather than cloth tape to ensure that they captured the distance accurately. “Steel tape will give you a straighter line.”

So, what does someone who has set a new state record that had stood for over three decades and then reset it twice in the following few weeks do?

Goes back to practicing, as she spent the first weekend after throwing the eighth furthest American high school throw in history working with Hiney.

“I love throwing,” said Scully. “It’s something I excel at. Everyone is so nice. It’s helped me so much to become the person I am.”

An emotional hurdle

Indeed, track and field and, in particular, the discus and the shot put has helped her overcome a generalized anxiety disorder that she’s battled since she was five years old.

“I’ve had difficulty socializing,” said Scully, who recalled the early years when she “kept to myself and was nervous to speak to people or meet new people.”

Scully suggested that her struggles with anxiety peaked during Covid, which added to her desire to self isolate and remove herself from some of her friendships.

Competing in track helped her emerge from a self-imposed social shell.

While larger groups gathered to speak with each other before relays or other events, throwers like Scully were often on their own.

“I thought, ‘Alright, I’m not going to sit in a corner and get on my phone. I’m going to get to know people.’ Throwers are very welcoming and friendly,” she said.

In the past year, Scully has probably only had one moment when she felt her anxiety climb to a level that might affect her performance.

“Once you find peace in yourself and you’re comfortable with who you are, your anxiety practically disintegrates,” she said.

Scully, who plans to join the track team at LSU this fall, is open to new experiences, new food and new opportunities.

When she sees people who are anxious and struggling, she goes up to them to offer encouragement and support.

“With throwers, everyone is checking on each other,” said Scully.

Support system

In addition to her parents James and Despina “Debbie” Scully, Jillian receives ongoing support from her maternal grandparents Helen and Emerson Vidal, who live a few doors away.

Every time she runs over to her support system after she sets a new personal record, which these days is also a state record, Scully receives different types of positive responses from her family members.

Her father, mother, and grandmother are the hugger, kisser and cryer, respectively.

“Dad won’t stop smiling,” Scully said.

Scully has three more competitions in which she can continue to surpass her high school record-breaking throws.

This coming weekend, she is participating in the state finals, while she also has under-20s and nationals.

Scully has set her sights on the US high school record of over 198 feet.

In practice, she’s thrown in the 190s and believes she might be able to hit that target before ending her high school career.

“After she blows us away with a throw, it takes a while to sink in,” said Debbie Scully. “Then, by the next day, it’s, ‘Okay, what’s next?’”

While college awaits in a few months, Scully’s support system recognizes she could represent the country at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 2028.

“We don’t put the pressure of the Olympics on her,” said James Scully. “We think about it and are excited about it, but we don’t want her to feel that we’re putting that on her. The next step is college and we’ll see where it goes.”

Everything Scully has done to this point has been amazing” and where she goes next is up to her, he added.

Andy Kokhanovsky, the throwing coach at LSU, has been tracking his future team member’s work and is pleased with her progress.

“She is doing a very, very good job,” said Kokhanovsky. “She’s very gifted. Her family did a great job raising her well. She works very hard and will achieve whatever she wants to achieve.”

Kokhanovsky is looking forward to working with Scully, who plans to major in engineering, on the throwing team. He suggested that she doesn’t have competition right now in the state, as she is outdistancing other competitors by as much as 50 feet or more.

“She’s very talented,” he added. “We want to have people like this.”

He believes her high level of organization will ensure a smooth transition to college. He’s encouraged to see this Long Island athlete sporting a cowboy hat in some of her social media posts, as she transitions to life in Louisiana.

Kokhanovsky, who competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, suggested that the athletes who participated in the sport do it for passion and pride, as the work opens doors to other opportunities

Jillian Scully, at a glance

• Number of times she’s broken the 

  state discus record: 3

• Number of remaining competitions: 3

• National High School Discus Rank: 1

• Rank for furthest high school discus

  throw: 8

• Age: 18

• Height: 6’1”

• Weight: 185

• College choice: LSU

• Favorite food: blackened chicken 

  with rice

• Favorite book: “Hidden Pictures” 

  by Jason Rekulak

• Favorite saying: Help yourself

• Favorite indulgence: Trolli gummy   

  worms

• Favorite color: Burgundy