Athlete of the Month: Joliet Central's Nunez Washes Away the Competition

He washes dishes on weekends to earn a couple bucks.

And he takes pride in helping his mother and father run their Rockdale taco restaurant, El Comal.

Joliet Central High School junior Favio Nunez wants more for himself than a life of cooking and cleaning, soap and water, though. His parents, Teresa and Carlos, push him to keep up his grades and work toward gaining a college scholarship.

He is right on track—literally.

Nunez placed seventh in the Class 3A boys state track field meet in the discus event with a throw of 159-0. He earned all-state honors after earlier placing first in invitationals at Kaneland and Dolton Thornridge.

And he is featured today’s as Joliet Patch’s Athlete of the Month for May.

Nunez is lifting weights this summer in an effort to gain strength and he is training with AO Throwers, a Marist-based shot and discus club named after former Olympian Al Oerter.

Nunez’s goal is to climb to the top of the IHSA state medal platform next season. He has a career-best throw of 161-10. And he has a sink full of dishes reminding him of the importance of going all out—all the time.

“It gives me something to do,” Nunez said of his part-time job at the family business. “My parents—they push me to be my best, be the best I can be in the discus. They say, ‘Don’t worry about getting a real job right now. Just try your best to get a scholarship for discus and get to a good school to get some of my college paid off.’

“And, then, I can still go and work with them on weekends. So, I’ll have some experience for when I come to the future to get a real job. There’s nothing glamorous about washing dishes.

“It’s easy. It’s simple. But it’s something I wouldn’t want to do for the rest of my life.”

Nunez started throwing the shot put and discus when he was in sixth grade at Rockdale Elementary School—but he didn’t have much instruction and he enjoyed only modest success.

He started to take off after enrolling at Joliet Central and learning to grasp the fundamentals of throwing the disc from Steelmen assistant coach Andy Harris.

Nunez came ready-made with the build to become a champion thrower—he is 6-2 and weighs 185 pounds. He just needed to add technique to his repertoire.

“It helps in those younger grades that they actually learn how to spin the disc with their hands,” Harris said. “He knew some of the movements, but he had to learn the full movement. And that’s what we teach. He was throwing about 118 as a freshman. And now he’s throwing 161-10. He’s come pretty far in a short time frame.”

How?

“First all, I think with Favio, it’s love for the sport,” Harris said. “That’s the No. 1 thing. You’ve got to love it. Then, you work hard because of it. It’s always preparation, opportunity and talent. He’s got talent and preparation. And I’m the opportunity, I guess.”

Nunez competed downstate with JT Central shot put standout Sean Swabowski and fellow discus thrower Ryan Connor.

“As coaches, we like to get kids there early, and they get the experience of the state meet, just the whole the routine,” JT Central coach Michael White said. “For Favio and Ryan Connor to make it (in the discus) to state and then make the state finals, it just made it even more exciting.

“Now, you’ll see, Favio’s so eager for next year. Hopefully, we’ll take care of business next season during the year and he’ll get down there again and improve. We kind of joked about it on the medals stand, ‘The guys were physically bigger than him. He looked like a midget.’

“And I think for Favio, if he improves his technique and keeps working and listening to coach Harris—and in addition to getting stronger—the sky’s the limit.”

“It was a great experience, just being out there and seeing other great discus throwers,” Nunez said. “A lot of them are really good—like Brandon Lombardino (the 3A state champ from Fox Lake Grant). He was really good.

“The fact he threw that far (191-0) in such bad conditions was amazing. The rings were slick. And the rain made it even tougher to throw. I’ve just go to do my best for next year.”

He is reminded to stay on task by that stack of dirty dishes in his parents’ restaurant.

Previous Winners

SEPTEMBER: JT Central's Singletary is Patch Athlete of the Month

OCTOBER: JCA's Blotnik Charges to Head of the Pack

NOVEMBER: Ivlow Rushes To JCA Football Rescue

DECEMBER: JCA's Lumpkin Has Game to Go with Nickname(s)

JANUARY: Joliet West's Dunnigan a King on His Own Court

FEBRUARY: Joliet Central's Zabala Doesn't Know Meaning of Word Quit

MARCH: Joliet West's Ames Knocking Down the Fences

APRIL: Joliet Central's Eichholzer a Diamond Gem