This week's (April 10-17) Guaranty Bank Athlete of the Week is Eagle thrower Hayden Mays, who had a record-setting day at the Springfield Hillcrest Jim Vaughan Invitational on April 11.

In his first outdoor meet of the 2025 campaign, the 2x state medalist captured the discus gold at the invitational with a throw of 57.16m, which set a current Missouri best throw. Mays surpassed the previous mark of 55.32m set in late March by Kearney's Tyrus Smith. Since then, the second-best throw behind Mays is 56.11m.

Mays also placed third in the shot put event with a throw of 17.35m, marking a new personal outdoor record, including topping his 2024 state runner-up performance of 17.21m. He was less than a meter behind the second-place winner (18.42m) and a few meters behind teammate Jackson Cantwell, who had a nation-leading throw of 22.4m. 

His performance helped Nixa secure the team title. The Eagles scored 10 points to beat Kickapoo's eight.

Click here to view the entire results of the meet.

"Hayden Mays had a great meet at the Jim Vaughan Invitational. Mays' throw is currently the leading discus throw in Missouri. He is a fantastic leader in our throws event group and is an extremely hard worker. We are excited to watch him compete this season," said head coach Lance Brumley.

Although he did not have a similar outing to his Jim Vaughan performance, Mays was a key contributor at the 35th Annual Pittsburg State University Indoor Gorilla Relays on April 4, where the Eagles captured their first team trophy of the season. He finished second in the discus (49.11m) behind Cantwell (59.3m) and third in the shot put at 15.82m.

The junior is well on pace to capture his third consecutive state medal in the summer. If his performances replicate, Mays will be in line for his first state gold, as he placed third in 2024 at 56.21m and fifth in 2023 at 49.921m.