LAKEWOOD — As Owen Twesme walked in the circle for his final throw in the shot put, he requested assistance from the audience gathered at the thrower’s pit.

Twesme raised his left arm twice, and the crowd at Jeffco Stadium began to clap for the Palmer Ridge thrower. As the pace of the claps increased, Twesme began his routine, completed two spins and released his shot.

The ball remained afloat so long that it appeared to threaten the fans near the ledge of the pit, but the shot fell, as did a decades-old record Thursday at the Colorado High School State Track Championships.

Twesme repeated as 4A shot put champion with a 60-foot, 11-inch throw and toppled the previous record of 60 feet, 4.75 inches set in 1997 by Mullen’s Carlos Tarin.

“Having everyone in the stands behind me and giving me all that momentum really helps me out,” Twesme said. “My confidence comes from the work I put in throughout the offseason and building the fundamentals so I can consistently throw at a high level.”

Twesme’s initial throw of 59 feet, 10.25 inches moved the Bears senior into first place, but Twesme wanted his shot to sail past that blue line, which indicated the previous state record. On May 1, at the Pueblo Twilight, Twesme set a personal-best mark at 61 feet, 9 inches. If he had six throws to reach the state record, Twesme planned to use them all.

“I was looking at that record, and I was chasing it,” Twesme said. “I beat the all-around state record two weeks ago, and once I broke that, I knew this was in reach.”

This is Twesme’s second consecutive shot put title as he also collected the crown as a junior and set a then-PR of 55 feet, 7.25 inches, which came on his final throw. Save the Arcadia Invitational in Arcadia, California, on April 10, Twesme placed first in all eight shot put events.

“Legacy is big,” Palmer Ridge throwing coach Tyler Dall said. “When the younger kids see how the older kids compete, they learn lessons that are things I can’t even teach as a coach.”

Including Twesme, Palmer Ridge had three throwers finish in the top nine. Samuel Inama placed eighth at 48 feet, 5.25 inches, and Hayden Oringdulph earned ninth at 47 feet, 1.75 inches. The Bears earned 13 points among the three throwers.

“I’m very blessed to have an amazing bunch of guys right now,” Dall said. “They work hard, and they’ve been working together for four years. They’ve treated this with a lot of respect and have worked hard at it, and they deserve all the kudos.”