By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Ex-Holliston athlete Eli Lammi had tried a lot of different sports growing up all the way into middle school, but nothing seemed to be what he was looking for or made him happy while participating. Then, under the urging of his father Eric, who had participated in the Decathlon, he decided to give track and field a shot.

Eli Lammi, at first, wasn’t even sure he was really good enough to be throwing discus at the collegiate level. Now, the Holliston native is poised to break the University of Vermont record.

 “My father wanted me outside and doing something outside to keep me active,” Lammi said. “He got me into track and field as he enjoyed it. I decided on throwing the discus, because I was not a runner ,and I felt that I was built for the event.”

With COVID around during his sophomore year, the Holliston would-be athlete couldn’t really do much in terms of athletics with all the restrictions. During that time, he did have a growth spurt and found himself  now a tall skinny kid who was going to attempt to throw the discus for Holliston during his junior year. 

In the beginning, he was an ok thrower, nothing special. However, with only two seasons of the event under his belt, he soon found himself as the Panther’s number two discus thrower.

“I guess you could say over those two years I did pretty well,” he said. “There was nothing  remarkable about my throws, although I was able to get to the State Meet.”

Lammi would begin hurling the discus 100 feet when he first started and by the end of his senior campaign he was pushing 130 feet. Following high school, he found himself not to be a good recruit for colleges, but with the help of his father things were about to change for the incoming University of Vermont (UVM) freshman.

Lammi was going to be attending UVM to major in Wildlife Biology and knew that his mere 130-foot throw was not what the Catamount Coaches were looking for. They wanted someone who could throw the discus at least 150 feet.

“I was attending college for academics, but if I could somehow weasel my way onto the team that would be great,” he said. “My father had a lot of connections and contacted the Coach, and soon after I started emailing him, eventually I was allowed to walk-on and tryout.”

The first-year Catamount still believed that he was too skinny at 6’4” and 185 pounds and his body frame was definitely your typical discus build. Not only did he feel his body was not right for the sport on the collegiate level, Lammi felt that he was far behind the athletes who were already on the team and had been throwing the discus far longer. Lammi was very unsure of himself and the uncertain of actually making the University’s track and field team. 

In the fall of his freshman season at UVM, the ex-Holliston athlete got a chance to compete in a mock meet, where he threw the discus 108.2 feet; a toss that he said was not very good for an incoming freshman discus thrower looking to make the team.

The freshman somehow made the team, but was he there because of his ability or did his father have something to do with it?

“I’ve thought about that a lot,” he said. “Eventually I came to the conclusion that I believe I made the team because of my interview with Coach Belfield (one of the biggest reasons I love the sport).”

Although believing he was on the team because of how he interacted and answered questions put forth by the UVM Coach, Lammi wanted to go out and do something to prove he belonged there. Unfortunately, it was not going to happen during his first official collegiate meet.

“I threw 108-feet – that was really bad for a Division 1 College thrower, ”Lammi said. “In fact, it was one of the lowest throws in the meet  and pretty much at the bottom of the ranks. It was really tough on me, and I thought about it and possibly leaving the team.”

Lammi was throwing 120-feet by the end of his first season but was still of the 150-160 foot throws the Coaches were actually looking for. By the end of his sophomore year, he was close to 140-feet and then he made a big jump in the beginning of his junior  campaign when he tossed the discus 154-feet.

“I had done a ton of work on my throwing, and although I had not really been that good, I honestly believe the big change was mentally,”  Lammi said. “I had been super tense and was constantly sweating when I stepped into the circle, something which is not good for a discus thrower. My teammates helped me through that.”

When his junior season came to an end, Lammi had secured his position on the team by  finishing third at the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) Championships. He would then go on to finish sixth at the New England Championships and was ranked fifth in the America East Conference. Things were looking up, and being able to place so high was a big deal for the Holliston native. 

“Originally I was feeling Imposter Syndrome,” he said. “I really sucked all the way from high school into college and should have just given up.”

Having not given up now puts Lammi on the brink of UVM history. Currently his best throw is 161.6 feet and the University’s record, which was set in 2001, sits at 163.2 feet a mere 1.6 feet higher than Lammi’s best throw. 

“It’s pretty shocking, if I was talking to my junior self (when he first started to throw the discus) that six years later I’d be one of the top throwers in New England and on the verge of breaking UVM’s school record I’d say you’re crazy,” he said. “I am extremely proud of myself and what I have been able to accomplish. It just shows that I put in a lot of work and hours; it took six years but I’m doing it.”

As he gets ready to participate in his final season with the Catamounts track and field team, Lammi wants nothing more than to be able to throw the discus 164 feet, while eclipsing the 2001 distance record and engrave his name into the University of Vermont’s record books. Following that, he would like to be able to reach the Division 1 East first round and become a top competitor and move onto the Division 1 Championships. Although reaching the Division1 Championships are a lofty goal, he still hopes he can make a charge at it. 

Following college, the senior noted that there is always a possibility of aspirations of making the Olympic Trials. The way things have gone for the Holliston discus thrower over the last six years – nothing is out of the possibility.