Brookhaven High senior Brodie Ezell cemented his track and field legacy on Wednesday at Pearl High School by winning the MHSAA 5A discuss throw for a third straight year to cap his high school career.

As a cherry on top, Ezell also won gold for the first time in his career at the state level in the 5A shotput competition.

On Wednesday, Ezell took first place in his signature event of discuss by having a best throw that traveled 160.01-feet.

The closest competitor to Ezell finished in second with a throw of 138.11-feet.

As a sophomore in 2021, Ezell burst onto the statewide scene with a career best effort at the 5A championship meet.

On that day, Ezell won the first of his gold medals with a throw of 144.01-feet, which beat out Reid Gavin of South Jones, a senior that had topped Ezell throughout the season, usually by 10-12 feet.

At that time, Ezell said it was a simple tweak to his form that made the difference in being a second or third placed finisher and being a state champion for the first time.

Once he got a taste of a state title, Ezell made the decision that he’d put the work in to remain on top.

“Brodie has a passion and love for his events,” said BHS track coach Darien Dorsey. “I remember when he bought his own discus as a junior so he could practice at home and in the off-season. I knew then he really wanted to be good and was dedicated to his craft. I am extremely proud of him and what he has accomplished in his high school career at Brookhaven High.”

Dorsey coaches track for the Panthers along with Tonya Johns, Jocelyn Robinson and Demario Richard.

Last year as a junior, Ezell won his second 5A discus title with a throw of 161.03-feet.

Ezell has also played football during his high school career at Brookhaven High, seeing time as a tight end for the Panthers.

“Track started out with me just trying to stay in shape for football,” said Ezell. “That role completely flipped and all I could think about was getting more distance every time I threw. Throwing completely consumed my life and I loved it. The technicalities of it, the days that I stayed until dusk just trying to gain a couple more feet — all of it just seemed so worth it to me.”

His first state title in shot put came on a throw of 47.11-feet, which outpaced the toss of 43.02-feet by Joey Anthony of Callaway High.

The gold medal in shot put came after Ezell finished in 6th place in the event as a sophomore and junior.

“I learned a new technique in the shot and just kept nitpicking and practicing it until I got good,” said Ezell.

Next year, Ezell will join the track and field program at NCAA Division II member school Mississippi College.

The career long throw thus far for Ezell in discus traveled just over 172-feet.

“I’m so blessed that throwing the discus took me as far as it did and that I’ll get to continue to do it in college,” said Ezell. “I look forward to what my future holds in track.”

Brookhaven High also got a podium finish in the boys’ 3,200-meter race on Wednesday when eighth grader Cooper Wallace finished in third place with a time of 10-minutes, 32-seconds in the nearly 2-mile run.

Wallace, one of the top junior high distance runners in the state, finished third behind two juniors.

Ridgeland High took the MHSAA 5A boys’ team title.