The state’s returning Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound senior set state records in the shot put and discus throw this past season. Sobota took second in the shot put at June’s New Balance Nationals Outdoor with a state-record throw of 69 feet, 1.25 inches, which ranked No. 3 in the nation among prep competitors in 2018 at the time of his selection. Sobota broke the state standard in the discus at the Ironwood Throwers Classic in Idaho with a mark of 200-5—No. 3 in the nation this spring. He also won the discus and shot at the Class AAA, Large state meet for a second straight year.
Sobota has maintained a weighted 4.34 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a national letter of intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at the University of Kentucky this fall.
An accomplished bass player, Sobota is a member of the Knoxville Youth Symphony Orchestra. The president of his school’s Key Club, he has volunteered locally at the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House.
