Kaylee Daume couldn’t have asked for a better start in her junior season with the Montgomery County track team on March 23.

Daume earned her first medal of the Montgomery County Early Invite after placing third in a personal-best throw of 33 feet, 5.75 in the shot put. She was one of 11 Wildcats to earn a medal at the season-opening event.

“I felt pretty good about it,” Daume said.
Now, Daume hopes her junior season will have a wonderful ending. She’s looking to return to the Class 3 state meet at Jefferson City and hopefully make a trip to the awards podium.

“That would be pretty nice,” Daume said. “I really hope for that.”

Last year, Daume was one of eight MCHS athletes who competed at the state meet. She qualified for Jefferson City after placing third in the shot put with a 33-0.5 in the Class 3, Sectional 3 championship meet at Jim Blacklock Field.

Daume said she was thrilled to join her teammate, junior Sam Turner, at the state event. Turner won sectional titles in both the shot put and discus and went on to earn all-state honors in both events.
“She really pushes me to be better,” Daume said. “I really like competing against her.”

The state trip capped an outstanding sophomore season in the throwing events for Daume. She placed in the top four in the shot put five times. Daume said qualifying for state wasn’t one of her goals when the 2025 season began.

“I was trying to get through each meet and trying to get first, second and third,” Daume said.

At state, Daume placed 12th with a 32-4.5. She said even though she didn’t walk out of Jefferson City with a medal, she enjoyed the experience of competing at state for the first time.

“It’s a different feeling when you get there,” Daume said. “It’s a lot more intense. There were really good competitors there. But if I work hard this season, I could maybe place.”

At this year’s Early Invite, Daume tossed 33-5.75 in her fourth and final attempt. She was in fourth place going into the final throw.

Daume said she was happy about coming back to the shot put ring after 305 days from her last meet, which was the Class 3 state meet.

“I was kind of nervous, but my friends were there, so I was pretty excited about competing with them,” Daume said.

Daume also competed in the shot put at the South Shelby Open on March 30 and threw a 32-9.5, almost a foot shorter from her throw at the Early Invite the week before. The junior said in order to improve on her throws this season, she has to make more trips to the weight room.
“You got to hit it so you can get stronger,” she said.

Daume has been competing in the throwing events since seventh grade. When she was an eighth-grader, she had four first-place finishes in the shot put. In her freshman year, she had a first-place finish in the shot put at the Bowling Green Mini-Medal meet.

Daume also plays basketball for the Wildcats. This winter, she helped her team finish 17-11.