National High School Records Through the Years

Boys Outdoor Record – Shot Put

Michael Carter (Jefferson High School, Dallas, Texas)

Performance – 77 feet even 

Date – May 5, 1979

Place – Abilene, Texas

Meet – State Qualifiers Meet

Previous Record – 74-8 ¼ by Carter in Dallas April 13, 1979

Michael Carter was the greatest shot putter in high school history. He still holds the national outdoor records for the 12- and 16-pound shot puts. (He did not compete indoors in high school). Entering his senior season of 1979, he had been national leader the previous season, putting 71-1 ¾, third on the all-time list at the time. It didn’t take long. In his second meet of the 1979 season, March 10, he eclipsed fellow Texan Sam Walker’s record, then did it again March 17, March 24, April 13 and, 46 years ago this week, 77-0. 

That would have remained the record to this day, except that a month later at the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, on the final put of his career with the 12-pound ball, he reached the stratosphere with the amazing 81-3 ½ that stands today as the record. 

His outdoor record with the 16-pound is 67-9. Two preps have reached Carter territory indoors. Jordan Geist of Pennsylvania did 68-4 in 2016 with the 16-pounder, and the Olympic champion Ryan Crouser of Oregon reached 77-2 ¾ indoors in 2017 with the 12-pounder.

After high school Carter did football and track at Southern Methodist University. In football he was a lineman on the school’s undefeated 1982 team. In track he was on the Mustangs’ NCAA 1983 championship team. He won seven college shot put championships in eight tries, the only loss coming outdoors in 1984 in a legendary head-to-head battle with John Brenner of UCLA at Hayward Field in Eugene. Carter put a lifetime best (71-4 ¾) but lost to a collegiate-record 71-11 by Brenner. Carter made up for it that summer by winning the silver medal in the 1984 LA Olympics. 

He continued in football as a 285-pound nose tackle on three Super Bowl championship teams for the San Francisco 49ers, the only NFL team he ever played for. In 2016 the Carter family struck gold again when Michael’s daughter Michelle, an NCAA champion in the shot put for the University of Texas, won the Olympic gold medal in Rio, becoming the first American woman to do so.  

National High School Records Through the Years appears once a week, compiled and written by a track historian, Jack Pfeifer (Lake Oswego, Oregon). Inquiries may be directed to him by email (jack.pfeifer@gmail.com).