So far, she’s proved to be the top girls discus thrower in the state and will look to three-peat as the Class 4A discus champion in 2027.

Oh, and she recently proved to be one of the top prep throwers in the nation to boot.

Schooler threw the discus 44.47 meters (nearly 146 feet) in August at the AAU Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa.

The distance placed her sixth at nationals, which automatically gave her All-American status. The Top 8 in each event are named All-Americans.

Asked about how she dealt with being on such a huge stage, Schooler explained that she trusted her training and her mindset.

“It was definitely the biggest one i’ve been on but I feel like I fit in and did the work to be there,” Schooler said. “I kept reminding myself there were some girls who just wanted to place Top 8.”

Her high placing didn’t come without some patience on competition day at the discus ring near Drake Stadium on the Drake University campus.

Inclement weather led to some delays. She also threw in a flight of 32 throwers before advancing to finals.

What vacation?

Schooler didn’t really have much of a breather after winning her second state title in late May.

She competed in two other competitions besides the AAU Nationals — the Jackie Joyner Invitational in Belleville, Illinois, and at Throw Town north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Schooler said throws at Title Town can be used for qualifying marks. Olympians were there qualifying, she noted, including Jayden Ulrich. Also there was Free State’s Sadie Reynolds. The Lawrence product, like Schooler, has won two straight state discus titles. Reynolds has her streak in 6A.

Schooler threw right around 140 feet that day. Ulrich had a heave of 215 feet. It was a great experience being around so much talent, Schooler said.

“I tried to get my best mark and be in that environment,” she said.

Along with working as a lifeguard at Tonganoxie Water Park, Schooler participated in open gym for basketball, AAU tournaments for basketball and open gym and team camp for volleyball. There also was a Spanish Club trip to Spain and the national convention for the THS Family, Community and Career Leaders of America chapter in Washington, D.C.

Amid all those trips, she worked at the pool between eight and 25 hours a week.

That didn’t allow for much free time during the vacation months.

“But I’m doing things I enjoy,” Schooler said. “Better than being at home and sitting around the house.”

Learning the sport

Schooler started throwing the discus in seventh grade in what has become a family tradition.

Her mother, Jackie, threw discus at Emporia State and older brother Mason, who is two years older, threw discus at Tonganoxie.

She said she started studying the event watching her older brother throw. She said she thought she could be good at it when she first took it up because she had been watching and learning her brother’s technique in the ring.

She also has excelled in high jump and shot put and has been part of relay teams while at THS.

Heading into her senior track campaign, Schooler will try to build on plenty of success so far. She placed third as a freshman in discus and eighth in the high jump. As a sophomore, she had her first state title and then placed fourth in the high jump and seventh in shot put alongside her discus championship.

Identifying the potential

Tonganoxie High throws coach Matt Thierolf, who will be in his 10th year coaching track next spring, has been there for all of Schooler’s progression so far.

He said to be a successful discus thrower, one needs to be a good athlete, have explosiveness and be committed to lots of practice.

Throwers in the shot put and discus, for instance, historically have been thought of as bigger athletes.

According to Thierolf, that’s not necessarily a recipe for success.

“To be a good thrower, you are a good athlete,” Thierolf explained. “You cannot put together bodily chain of movement without having a combination of coordination and explosive strength.”

Olympian Ryan Crouser is 6-7 and more than 300 pounds, but has an 11-foot broad jump and 36-inch vertical leap and is a “freak athlete,” as Thierolf puts it.

Thierolf said that he always will stay later for practice if his throwers want to keep working on technique. No matter when they finish up, even if they might be struggling with some throws, he has them step out of the ring, work on some drills and then go back for final throws.

“I try to have us end on a good one,” Thierolf said. “If you end on a good one and you’re not ruminating on it and thinking about it and end on good one instead of ‘what was I doing wrong? How am I not throwing as far?’

“I want them to get in a pretty good head space. I prefer doing that.”

Ending a practice with success can even mean focusing on a specific technique and then mastering it in the last throws.

On meet day, all that matters is getting at least one solid throw.

“It just takes one,” the coach said. “If you can get that ‘I have five bad ones, i just need to finish with this one good one and I’m in a really good place.'”

Schooler had five pretty darn good throws at the 2025 state championships and then finished with her best heave. Her final throw was her best at 130-5, but all of her six throws were better than all competitors’ attempts. And at the 2026 championships, she did one better and had the best throw across all classes of 146-4 and shattered the 20-year-old school record this past season in the process. That belonged to THS alum Sarah Hartshorn, who’s career best was 131-5.

Thierolf has watched Schooler’s progression from her freshman year.

“Addy fell into the thrower’s trap,” he explained. “Ten minutes and you want to hop in and want to throw. Her sophomore year she got better. Her dedication to drill work was impressive this year.”

She also has been dedicated in the weight room and attention to detail has contributed to her major success, Thierolf said.

Recalling the first title

Schooler has put together an impressive state resume so far in three seasons. Included in that rundown is something that doesn’t happen often — an event championship sweep.

In the 2025 season, a sophomore Schooler joined then-senior Tucker McGuire as Tonganoxie’s dual threat discus champs for the Class 4A girls and boys.

“That was definitely a really big moment for us,” Schooler said. “I think the biggest thing for that was how everyone got to see Thierolf’s work to have both of your athletes to sweep titles and says the most about him and what he is doing for us.”

For Schooler, McGuire’s success became infectious. She said everyone was giving each other hugs.

“i just got this feeling,” Schooler said. “That was so cool and so doable. He came in ranked fifth and had a 15-foot PR (personal record) and I thought ‘yes, i’m going to do that, too.'”

Schooler ranked No. 2 behind No. 1 Rory Patzer. The Rock Creek thrower won the Tonganoxie Regional, so the Top 2 throwers came from the same regional.

McGuire helped the younger Schooler in the two years they were teammates, Schooler noted.

He definitely helped me a lot and mentored me from the moment I got there my freshman year, pointing out little things in my technique.”

Garnering college interest

Schooler’s marks have caught the eyes of college coaches at various division levels. Her experience on relay teams and state medals in high jump and shot put also are appealing.

Thierolf said Schooler started throwing the shot put just a few days before regionals. She went on to take seventh at state less than two weeks later.

The versatility in track and field begs the question: Could Schooler one day compete in the heptathlon.

“I’ve definitely thought about it,” Schooler said. “It would be fun.”

But Schooler then said it would be whatever her coaches wanted her to do at the next level.

Thierolf, who coached three years at Beloit before landing in Tonganoxie, said he has coached two future NCAA Division-I athletes previously.

“I would put her up with those two,” Thierolf said. “One is at Wichita State and another is at Mizzou. Just in terms of how much she cares about it. She’s right there with you and understanding how to maximize your potential as an athlete.”

Courts and rings and a few things in between

It’s now volleyball season and come November it will be basketball season for Schooler and her THS teammates.

She’s excited for volleyball and new head coach Ginny Reischman, who also was her coach when she started the sport as a freshman. Both volleyball and basketball graduating strong senior classes, so now it’s Schooler’s turn to lead alongside her classmates.

“My biggest goal is to welcome the freshmen and get all these younger girls prepared and ready to go,” she said. “That’s what I’ve been working on all summer.”

As for a favorite sport, Schooler was diplomatic.

“It’s kind of like picking a favorite child,” she said.

Schooler then joked and said “volleyball would be the problem child.”

But she explained that she picked that sport up last, so it took some time to get acclimated. But she’s definitely ready for the 2026-27 campaign in all sports.

“I love playing basketball but track is super fun,” Schooler said. “It’s just a whole different environment. Volleyball and basketball are comparable, but track is a whole different kind of world.

Schooler will have plenty of opportunities to have fun in the three sports, but one can tell she’s all business. And as Thierolf pointed out, she’s motivated, loathes losing and has an impeccable work ethic.

Her mindset as she competed for her most recent state discus title reinforce Thierolf’s perspective.

“It was just returning to all the work I’d done,” Schooler said. “Working out 6:30 a.m. every day, doing the drills and being in the weight room.

“So once I get in the ring at Wichita, there’s nobody but me for this moment.”