Jackson Cantwell: flapjacks, silverbacks, pancakes, Hurricanes and a throw that echoes through history

Looking back on a near-national record performance and the unique bond between a Jefferson City legend and his son, Missouri’s rising star

Nixa junior Jackson Cantwell celebrates after winning his third consecutive Class 5 state championship in the shot put in Jefferson City on May 31, 2025. Junior teammate Hayden Mays (right) placed second and celebrates alongside him. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The grandstands at Adkins Stadium weren’t empty that afternoon. They just looked that way.

A few weeks have passed since the MSHSAA State Track and Field Championships, but the image still sticks. The crowd – or at least the portion of it that everyone still talks about – wasn’t in the seats. It was wrapped around the shot put area, five and six deep in some places, all pressed against the railings for a chance to see one throw.

They were there for Jackson Cantwell.

The 6-foot-8, 320-pound Nixa junior and Miami football commit had already set Missouri’s all-class shot put record earlier in the season. On that Saturday in Jefferson City, he was chasing another state championship and the national high school mark – a record untouched since 1979.

He missed it by one centimeter.

His throw – 76 feet, 11 1/4 inches – landed just shy of Michael Carter’s 77-0 record set 45 years ago. It now ranks as the second-longest outdoors in NFHS history and No. 3 in high school all-time. But what Jackson delivered that afternoon was more than just distance. It was the kind of performance that draws people away from everything else and toward a single moment.

Nixa junior Jackson Cantwell's throw at the 2025 MSHSAA Track and Field State Championships will be talked about for decades. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A familiar name, a familiar place

What made the moment more powerful was where it happened – and who was watching.

Christian Cantwell, a Jefferson City native, Olympic silver medalist, and one of the greatest throwers Missouri has ever produced, stood in the upper level overlooking the pit. He was easy to spot and folks found him often. He stood out like a sore thumb in his bright red Nixa Eagles shirt and dark Miami Hurricanes shorts – looking much trimmer from his competition days, yet more jacked than ever.

When Jackson walked up the hill behind the long jump area accompanied by fellow junior Hayden Mays, his Nixa teammate, they did so looking like the Bash Brothers of shot put – physically imposing and unmistakable, neither seeming too fazed by the hoopla of the moment.

Mays has spent much of his throwing career finishing right behind Cantwell – second in the shot put, second in the discus, second just about everywhere the two throw together. Despite that their bond was evident pretty fast. After launching his throws, Mays quickly turned his attention to his buddy.

"Let’s go, Jack," Mays would shout – Cantwell reciprocating the encouragement on each Mays throw. On this day, Mays was second again, and Cantwell added another discus title to his haul.

As almost everyone expected.

Nixa junior Hayden Mays (left) watches intently along with spectators as Nixa junior Jackson Cantwell throws the shot put during the 2025 MSHSAA Track and Field State Championships at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Whether it was the expectations of others he feels, or just the ones he places on himself, Cantwell didn’t appear to be someone who took the moment lightly. While other competitors took a seat and waited between throws, Cantwell looked like he was pacing the sidelines of a one-score game late in the fourth quarter - gnawing on a blue towel, then swapping it for a different one before excitedly sipping on an undoubtedly steaming hot flavored beverage he found hiding in a nook of the dusty black gear bag at his feet.

“Sweet. A drink,” Cantwell told Mays as the two waited to throw.

A snap-back reminder that these grown-looking men were still juniors in high school without staff at their beck-and-call. For now, Cantwell can still be a kid excited to find a dusty old drink hidden in his bag.

Even then, the force in his release was another snap-back that this young man is 6-foot-8 and 320 pounds. His warmups drew gasps and a smattering of cheers. The throw that broke the Missouri state record nearly clanked off the chain link fence at the back of the pit. Officials spent more than two minutes measuring and confirming the mark – by tape, not laser.

Missouri still does it the old-school way.

Between throws, Jackson looked to the stands where he and Christian would bounce feedback off each other using hand signals. After his final throw, he raised both arms toward the section above. His father had been there all afternoon, watching, offering feedback, staying just far enough back to let his son own the moment and close enough to have a view from the front row.

76’11.25/23.45.

US #2 outdoors. #3 all time in high school history.

What a day. Excited to challenge the U20 American record in what could be my last track meet in 3 weeks. #NSGB pic.twitter.com/D7aNtCiYsB

— Jackson Cantwell (@jcantwell2499) June 1, 2025

A reflection of the past beaming straight into the future – in the same town, on the same field, in front of many of the same people. No move required. A great example of how small the world truly is.

A shared spotlight

It wasn’t just Jackson getting mobbed after the event.

While fans lined up to shake Jackson’s hand or ask for a photo, a pair of young athletes also made their way to Christian. "Mr. Cantwell, can we have a photo with you?" one asked sheepishly.

Jackson Cantwell's dad, 2008 Olympic silver medalist Christian Cantwell, watches his son compete in shot put at the 2025 MSHSAA Track and Field State Championships at Jefferson City's Adkins stadium. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Christian smiled, adjusted his ballcap and said, "Well, I don’t know why you’d want one with me, but sure," before happily posing for the picture.

It was a small moment, but one that said a lot. Even in his hometown, where his own name might be one of the few things that carries more weight than he can, Christian made sure to let Jackson shine.

A legacy handed forward

Both of Jackson’s parents were elite throwers. His father’s resume is well known – a Mizzou legend and 2008 Olympic silver medalist. Certainly not to be overlooked is his mother, Teri Steer-Cantwell. A Nebraska native, she’s a national champion and Olympian herself who starred at SMU and is in that school’s Hall of Fame.

Christian has seen the view from the top. Now, he’s watching his son approach that same summit – and faster than anyone expected.

"Part of it, for me, is sort of kinda weird because I’ve always been kinda humble," Christian Cantwell said. "You never think you deserve it, right? I read these things and see all this praise, and in the back of my head, knowing him, it’s like, ‘does he really deserve all this stuff?’"

"It is what it is, and I am happy for him to get it," Christian continued, pausing at times as he continued to process how crazy things have gotten. "It’s much more than I ever thought. I never thought in my life that he would be taken the way he’s been taken. I don’t know if any parent does? Even his freshman year, I didn’t have any expectations. I’m just super grateful that he’s in the position he is in. I think it’s awesome for him, for our community and for our state. That’s how I look at it. I’m a Missouri guy: for him to represent our state and make his own name is a great thing."

Nixa junior Jackson Cantwell throws a shot put as he competes in the 2025 MSHSAA Track and Field State Championships at Jefferson City High School. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Flapjacks, silverbacks and blindside blocks

Those who know football locker rooms know that offensive linemen tend to be the funniest people in the building. Jackson fits that perfectly.

He’s smart, thoughtful and sharp on his feet. When asked whether 100 Jackson Cantwells could beat one silverback gorilla, his answer came out fast but calculated.

"Interesting question," Jackson Cantwell said. "Do you want, like, the actual answer?"

He cracked a smile, then laid out the logic.

"I’m sure he said yes for him, no for me," Cantwell said when asked what he thought Christian’s answer was. "The reason why for me, because the hard part of that question is yes, (100 people) could, but the bystander effect would make it difficult. Because nobody’s gonna want to die first, so nobody’s gonna want to go in and be the one to die. Because 100 people absolutely could, but someone’s not making it out. So everybody wants to make it out alive, nobody wants to die. That’s the answer to that. It depends on if I could program myself not to do that."

Christian was asked the question first.

"I’ll take the gorilla. It would be close, but I’d take the gorilla," he said with a hearty laugh. "I’d take 100 of me. I’d take (down) that gorilla."

Jackson taking the team approach to his line of thinking is no surprise. On the football field, he is the one protecting others – specifically the quarterback’s blindside. He carries a Waffle House flag onto the field, but doesn’t eat many pancakes. "They can be dry unless you cover them in syrup," he said.

He prefers to serve them. In football lingo, that means pancake blocks – and he stacks a lot of them.

His record for pancakes in a game is 22 – a mark he hit twice. He had 22 against Republic as a sophomore and another 22 as a junior against Kirkwood. He nearly matched that total again with 21 against Webb City last year.

"I could have had 27, but we got pulled early," Cantwell pointed out.

He finished with 158 pancakes as a junior, 91 as a sophomore and 55 as a freshman. When the high school season begins on Aug. 29, expect more on the menu.

As for eating them: "I don't eat a lot of pancakes, really," Cantwell said, the offensive lineman inside him about to come spewing out with the next sentence. "And in my opinion, this gets done crazy: they're not that good without syrup and I don't like to get syrup all over my stuff. I'm gonna get messy sometimes."

The mark still hangs

The fact that he came so close to history made it even more impressive, but seemingly left some unfinished business for the type of player who always wants more. The fact that it happened in Jefferson City – where Christian’s throwing career began – made it unforgettable.

"I’m happy," Jackson said afterward. "I wouldn’t say content, but I’m very happy."

He’ll compete at Nike Outdoor Nationals, and could even take a run at the American junior record. Whether he’ll return for one last high school season is still undecided. He explained that he's still planning to graduate early and get to Miami to begin training with the Hurricanes. But it's hard to see how Cantwell wouldn't break that record - and possibly smash it - as a senior.

For a guy who always demands more of himself, it's also difficult to see how he walks away from something left unproven.

"I can still edit my classes until September," he said. "I mean, it would be pretty cool to try and chase a really far mark."

New experiences

While Christian has had to handle fame in his own way and on his own time, everyone – even fathers and sons – handle things differently. Yet, in some ways, both are still adjusting to the new fame.

Jackson Cantwell, 12, right, who set an AAU Junior Olympics national record shot put distance of 56 feet, 7.50 inches in Satellite Beach, Fla., listens as his father, Christian, does an interview. Christian is an Olympic silver medalist in the shot put. / Hillard Grossman/FLORIDA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

"It feels so weird, honestly," Cantwell said. "I don’t know if I like it really, but that’s the one thing about Miami: I walk down the street there and nobody will know who I am and I am OK with that. But I’ve gotten used to it and I’m taking it all in stride."

Was that the biggest reason he picked Miami?

"I think (Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal) and Coach (Assistant Head Coach / Offensive Line Coach Alex) Mirabal are the majority of it, really," Cantwell said. "I mean, those are two guys that have recruited me really, really hard this whole time. And those are two guys that poured so much into me and my family and put so much into making sure that I understand the process – I understand what they want out of me. And that was what won out in the end. I think they did a fantastic job of recruiting me like they did."

When asked which question he wishes people asked more often, he didn’t hesitate.

"I think the question about why I went to Miami is a good one, because I don’t think a lot of people care about that,” Cantwell said frankly. “They just care about printing articles without knowing, and I think (asking) about what you're thinking when something like that happens – because obviously there's a lot going on and it isn’t always easy. It’s hard to (go through) that and people being able to understand that, I think, is a pretty cool thing."

Nixa football star Jackson Cantwell with his dad Christian Cantwell. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK

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