Obsession beats talent all the time.

Juliana Juras repeats the same phrase, whether she is throwing the discus, or the shot put.

“You can have all the talent in the world, but are you obsessed?” said Juras, now among the most decorated throwers in Marlboro track and field history.

“That quote, I’ve just been having it in my head the whole time because I know that if you really want it, you could do it.”

Juras has been obsessed since she started throwing, as she won Marlboro’s first national championship, winning the discus throw with a distance of 138-5.75 at Adidas Track Nationals 2024 at the Marcus T. Johnson Track and Field at Greensboro, N.C.

“It was a surreal moment,” Juras said. “I knew deep down that I could definitely do it, but I didn’t expect to do it, if that makes sense. I knew there was a lot of really good throwers there that day, and I was just like, ‘I’ll give it my all, and I’ll do what I love like I always do,’ and it just worked out for me.”

It worked out. She knew Theresa Breckley of Culpeper County had thrown about a 138-6, and she decided to go for broke and reach 140. Even after the throw, she wasn’t entirely sure who the winner was.

Until the official congratulated her as she was running to get her disc, and then after a brief conversation with Breckley, it was determined that Juras won. Culpeper had fouled four times and Juras had only fouled twice. While they both had identical further throws, Juras had more further throws.

“That’s when I knew,” she said. “I went over to my coach and my family, and just hugged them. I wanted to take a picture next to my throw on the board, and then I just started crying.”

She also finished 16th in the shot put, with a throw of 36-7.8. She also was eighth in the hammer throw, reaching 41.24 meters.

Her Marlboro teammate, Victoria Maher, also attended Nationals. However, they both competed unattached to any school or club. Maher took part in three events: discus, shot put, hammer and javelin.

She was fifth in the shot put, reaching 38.09 meters and was fifth in the hammer throw with 42.86 meters. She was ninth in the javelin throw, reaching 31.71 meters.

Her hammer throw was a personal best.

“I was pretty happy with hammer,” Maher said. “I was happy with all my events, regardless of the marks because to cram three events into three weeks, and I only had three days to practice them all. I knew it probably wasn’t going to be my best performance.”

It was a strong finish in a comeback season for Maher, who burst onto the throwing scene as a sophomore, but then missed all of her junior year with a knee injury.

“I didn’t have the greatest confidence coming into this season,” Maher said. “I had the whole entire season off and then another couple months of physical therapy. So, I thought I was going to come in in the same spot as my sophomore year.”

Their graduation ends Marlboro’s current throwing era. The first to graduate was Jose Iraola-Ceely, who graduated from Marlboro last year and throws at Binghamton University, where Juras will join him.

She will join him as a national champion, three-time Section 9 shot put champion, two-time Section 9 discus and state champion, a three-time Mid Hudson Athletic League champion in the shot put and discus.

She also holds the school record in the shot put and discus.

Maher also held the school discus record for a time and won the Section 9 Class B title in May with a personal best throw of 141.

“We all kind of do our own thing,” Juras said. “We work hard and whoever puts in the most amount of work, it shows in what they do. We all do similar things.”

Now, it’s off to summer training, and while Juras is heading to Binghamton, Maher will throw at Division II Georgian Court in Lakewood, N.J.
“I’m proud of it,” Maher said. “It’s not really the end.”