Finding someone who is lion-hearted is hard to come by, but newly arrived thrower Donald Romero has that trait physically and mentally.

Romero, a junior transfer from Moorpark College in Los Angeles, has a tattoo of a lion on his left arm.

“I have a tattoo of a lion because I have the heart of a lion,” Romero said. “That’s how I feel I should be. I want to bring that level of intensity so that Justin (Washington, senior thrower) could feed off me and my other teammates as well, so they could do well with their own throwing.”

The tattoo also represents Romero’s physical strengths and talents he brings to the Panther track program. The Eastern coaches and throwers are excited to have the 6-foot, 235-pound thrower on board and able to help the Panthers score points in conference.

Gaining a talent

Assistant head track coach and throwing instructor Jessica Sommerfeld said she is thrilled to have Romero join the team mid-season.

“The big thing about Donald is that he can throw three events very well,” Sommerfeld said. “He will be at the top of our list for the guys we have. He will be competing with the best people in those areas. He will be very strong in all those events for our conference championship teams.”

Sommerfeld met Romero’s coach, Bob MacKay at a camp in South Dakota during a high school coaching clinic.

MacKay is one of the superstar coaches there.

Sommerfeld said she keeps in contact with MacKay and he lets her know of possible athletes she can recruit.

In getting Romero, Sommerfeld said he is proficient at the shot put, weighted throw, hammer and discus and will be able to score points for the team.

“He just solidifies the whole group,” she said.

Head coach Tom Akers said he too feels the transfer will improve the team.

“He is coming in as a real seasoned thrower for us and going to be a real quality across the board,” Akers said. “He really helps us in the throws department right now.”

Akers said that a few years ago the Panthers got Ron White, who set a school record in the javelin throw, from a California school.

“Romero came for a visit in December and liked it,” Akers said. “I think he really enjoyed what he saw here: the team, the atmosphere and the school.”

Coming to Eastern

On the other side of the country, Romero said he came for a December visit to campus and loved what he saw.

“When I came here for the recruiting visit, I liked the teammates that I had here and not just the throwers, but the environment with the sprinters, runners and jumpers and the way they just wanted to win. And that’s what I am; I’m a winner.”

“I am going to try to give my best efforts to be the best I can be and benefit my team,” Romero said. “When I met Akers, I told him that and he seemed to like that I was a competitor.”

During his adjustment, Washington said Romero was a bit nervous his first few days, but then the California native opened up.

“I sat down and talked to him a couple days before we got going to see how he was adjusting,” Washington said. “Normally, it takes a little while for a transfer to feel ready to open up.”

Washington said the move was also challenging for his new teammate, but Romero, he said, is making the right adjustments.

“Coming in halfway through the year, he is coming in at an awkward time and everything is a little fresh and a little new, especially because he is coming from the Bay Area to Charleston, hardcore Midwest,” Washington said. “He is adjusting nicely to a huge (social transition).”

Bringing intensity

One of Romero’s strengths is the intensity he brings to the ring.

“Throwing is more mental than physical,” Romero said. “To be in a ring and having people watching you, just you doing a certain turn is huge mentally because you don’t want to mess up in front of all those people.”

Romero said his intensity helps him focus as he shuts out everything outside the ring. Intensity is needed for a far throw, he said.

“You need to get hyped up and get that little fire in your stomach going,” Romero said. “You can’t go out in this event without any intensity because you won’t go anywhere.”

Washington has noticed the high energy Romero brings every practice.

Washington said it is the exact opposite of his own approach, which he described as low-key until he enters the ring in competition.

“Donald is more like a heart attack in the energy spectrum,” Washington said. “He is competitive in everything, which is great. He and I have the yin and the yang going on, so it is a balance.

“His competitive energy is like a heart attack, while mine is a flat line.”

Romero said he has made adjustments from community college training to Division-I workouts. In community college, the mechanics of throwing were studied.

“I’m pretty much sore after every day,” he said. “It’s tough, but at the same time, I like it. I like doing the hard work. I know that being sore every day will benefit me in the long run.”

Starting track

Track was not Romero’s first love. Instead, his heart was set on the gridiron.

He played as an offensive lineman on the football team at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, Calif., all four years, but after his freshman season Romero changed his path.

Ron Romero, Donald’s father, wondered what his son would do in the spring instead of sitting around. Ron suggested for his son to do track. Donald said he did not want to run, but Ron said there are throwing and jumping events.

“I tried it out, and I liked it,” Donald Romero said. “It was a different event from football.”

Ron coached Donald in his junior and senior years in track.

Amador Valley’s shot put record belongs to Romero, with a distance of 58-6 3/4. He was also voted Male Athlete of the Year at Amador.

For college, Romero said MacKay’s national reputation drew him to Moorpark six hours from his home.

“I went to him, and he taught me all the fundamentals I needed to know about throwing, shot put, hammer and discus,” Romero said. “He was a great benefit to myself and all of my teammates there. I try to bring that here at Eastern Illinois.”

Romero would compete against USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State and some Big 10 schools, so he has big meet experience.

The season

At the EIU Mega Meet, Romero placed fifth in shot put at 49-5 and fifth in the weight throw with 50-0 _.

He already has goals of hitting 55 to 56 feet in the shot put and being the conference champion in that event.

Sommerfeld also has expectations.

“I want to see him get a little stronger,” Sommerfeld said. “He is already a very solid athlete, but he is concentrating on getting his legs stronger so he could keep improving. His technique is very sound.”

Washington knows everyone will improve with Romero around.

“He brings something that we don’t have to the table,” Washington said. “His learning style is vastly different from other men and throwers on the team, so we give him our knowledge and he does the same for us.”

Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected].