LEWISTON — If anyone thought last year’s Class A state indoor shot put championship was out of Rudy Pandora’s reach, the Lewiston junior had a surprise for all of the doubters.

Pandora trailed Bonny Eagle’s Heath Martel by about three feet when his the next throw he unleashed not only beat his personal best by more than two feet (48-08) and set a new school record, but surpassed Martel’s best effort by about a foot.

Martel’s final throw went 1 3/4 inches beyond that, squelching Pandora’s hopes of winning his first state title. Yet considering it was just his second year throwing the 12-pound solid metal ball, Pandora was able to maintain a healthy perspective.

“It was a letdown, but I was still able to say I got second place as a junior. I felt pretty good about that,” said Pandora, who went on to finish eighth at New Englands.

Now widely considered the front-runner (or front-thrower) in the event, Pandora will, in a sense, have to come from behind again this year to win his first state title.

Fully recovered from a knee infection he battled during football season (while still earning all-conference honors as a lineman), he is now battling tendinitis in the same knee. He’s being cautious with his lower body in preseason but continues to work on his upper body “so I can come back and work on my legs without having to worry about it,” he said.

“We still have to restrict some of the stuff that he has to do, like squats and stairs, but he’s ready to go,” Lewiston coach Heather Green said. “He is able to do his shot put drills and they don’t seem to bother his knee as much.”

“I haven’t really thrown for distance, so I don’t really know if I’ve lost anything yet. It’s not bothering me now,” Pandora said.

When Pandora was a sophomore, Lewiston assistant football coach and Bowdoin College track legend Dick Leavitt urged him to try track and field as a way to stay in shape for football season. Pandora took to the sport right away (he also throws discus and javelin in the spring).

“It evolved into more of a sport itself than just getting ready for football,” he said. “From the first meet, it was fun. We had a junior and senior division so we were competing with kids our own age. It really got you more involved with it.”

Strong and unusually quick for his size, he clearly had the talent to develop into one of the top throwers in Class A. But raw talent can only take a thrower so far.

“It took a little bit of time. I was probably considered one of the worst throwers, form-wise, up until last year,” he said. “Last year, it wasn’t up until the end when my form was actually considered decent. I was more of a strength-based thrower. Now, I’m actually learning techniques.”

Pandora’s technique is known as “the glide,” one of two popular techniques used by shot putters, the other being “the spin.”

The glide emphasizes building acceleration to the toe board so the thrower is at full acceleration as they release the shot put.

“It’s considered the more simple of the techniques, but when you come right down to it, it’s really not simple at all,” he said. “Even the smallest thing , something someone just looked at thinking it’s not important at all, could throw off a throw or add maybe four inches.”

As he knows too well, championships are decided by much less. But Pandora, who is currently exploring attending Bates, Bowdoin, Maine and Ithaca with the hopes of continuing football and track while studying pre-med and chemistry, said he is more focused on trying to top his own school record and improving overall in the shot put so he can challenge the school outdoor record of 53-06 (his personal best is 49-01).

“I don’t really care about winning as much this year as I do trying to beat the record,” he said. “I just feel like if I can at least work at that, those will come along anyway.”