Phoenixville QB Talon Romance is a ‘natural track athlete’ who set a school record in the javelin

Whether he is standing in the backfield looking for an open receiver or standing with a javelin hoisted over his shoulder at the start of a runway, Talon Romance knows how to keep himself calm.

The Phoenixville Area High School senior is a standout in the javelin. He also plays quarterback. This past season was his first year as a full-time starting quarterback for the Phantoms, and he adopted the mindset of Cam Ward, the former Miami quarterback and No. 1 overall selection by the Tennessee Titans in this year’s NFL draft.

“Cam Ward, he says, ‘Have a don’t care mindset,’” Romance said. “Just let it happen. So I just go and try to have fun, and I feel like that’s when I’m at my best.”

That “don’t care mindset” has carried over to Romance’s track and field season.

A week after throwing a personal and school record of 202 feet, 4 inches at the District 1 meet, he will try to top it at the PIAA track and field championships. The state meet is Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University, and the boys’ Class 3A javelin begins at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Romance is approaching the state meet the same way he approaches any of his meets.

“Just go out there and act like it’s any other meet,” Romance said. “Not any different because it’s states, but just go out there and throw normally.”

Before joining Phoenixville’s football team, the 6-foot-2 Romance said he had “really never heard of” javelin. Jamie Gray, who coaches the Phantoms’ offensive line as well as the track team’s throwers, persuaded Romance to throw as a freshman.

“I try to get all my quarterbacks to come out and throw javelin,” Gray said. “He came out his freshman year and was pretty good at it then. He made our conference championship his freshman year.”

While eventually he found success, Romance remembers the first few months as a thrower as challenging.

“When I picked up a javelin for the first time, it didn’t go too well,” Romance said. “It was a learning process, for sure. It’s all about technique, and that’s why it was difficult to learn.”

Gray, who has been coaching throwers since 2002, calls Romance a “natural track athlete.”

“He would have been my best discus thrower,” Gray said. “I think he probably could have been our best high jumper if he wanted to do it.”

» READ MORE: La Salle’s Joey O’Brien is a prized two-way football recruit who could be the best to come through the area

Romance settled on javelin, as it was the best cross-training for the skills he wanted to pick up as a quarterback. The mechanics of throwing a football and throwing a javelin are different, but training for javelin has allowed Romance to put more zip into his throws on the gridiron.

“It’s really about the power behind the throw,” Romance said. “That helps add strength onto your shoulder and add more force when you’re throwing a football. It just makes your arm more whippy.”

At the district meet last weekend, Romance needed his “don’t care” mindset.

Drue Chauhan, a senior at Quakertown High School, threw 187 feet, 10 inches, which became the mark to beat. Romance threw 181 feet, 7 inches on the first throw to qualify for the finals.

“I was like, ‘All right, I’ve just got to stay calm,’” Romance said. “Focus on my technique and let everything just click on its own.”

His second-to-last throw was 188 feet, 9 inches, about a foot farther than the mark Chauhan had already thrown.

» READ MORE: Coaching lacrosse served as Mark Princehorn’s safe haven as his son battled a life-threatening illness

“I was like, ‘Oh, I need to do better than that,’” Romance said.

On his final throw, Romance unleashed the javelin 202-4. The throw lifted Romance into the second seed for the state meet. Only Thomas Lloyd, a senior at Whitehall High School, has a better mark (210-1) entering states.

“On my last throw, everybody was clapping,” Romance said. “I just got hyped up and everything felt like it clicked. … You can kind of feel when it’s going to be a good throw, and I felt that.”

Romance’s time as a thrower will not end after the state meet. He is committed to play quarterback and throw the javelin at Mount Union, a Division III college in Alliance, Ohio, and the alma mater of Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.

“I decided late,” Romance said. “I was still deciding if I even wanted to play football, but I knew later on in my life, if I didn’t play football, I’d be really mad at myself and regret it. So I took the opportunity I had.”

Romance also will throw the javelin at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor at Franklin Field (June 19-21).

Even though his athletic career will continue, the PIAA championship meet is Romance’s last chance to compete alongside his teammates at Phoenixville. Including Romance, the Phantoms are sending four athletes to compete in six events.

“That’s what it’s about,” Romance said. “The bonding with your teammates, the friendships you make. It’s a brotherhood, and that’s something you don’t get often.”