Riverview javelin thrower won't rest until he finds success

High school hasn’t looked like Antony Miller pictured it would, but that might be one of the best things to happen to him. 

The Riverview High junior has transferred schools, switched positions on the football field and tried new sports to find his path to success.

After years of setbacks and frustrations, Miller is breaking records and putting himself in a position to contend for a state championship in a way he didn’t envision until recently.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound athlete has broken the Rams record for the longest javelin throw twice this season despite just starting the sport two years ago. 

His personal-best throw of 55.81 meters — a mark he hit on March 13 at the Ram Invite at Riverview High — currently has him ranked second in 4A, less than one-tenth of a meter away from the top spot.

“I try to make the most of every opportunity I have,” Miller said. “My main thing is being the best version of myself I can be, whether that’s playing quarterback, receiver, running back or in track. Whatever comes, I 100 percent believe I will deal with it however I have to.”

Photo by Vinnie Portell

The mindset that helped him get here might have never developed if not for the detours he’s had to take along the way.

Miller was a starting quarterback throughout Pop Warner with the Venice Vikings and won several long-throw competitions at various youth football camps growing up.

That led him to believe he’d soon be starting under center as a varsity football player for the Venice High football team early in his high school career.

Miller made the Venice varsity football team as a freshman in 2022 — a rare accomplishment — but didn’t have much of a chance to play meaningful snaps. 

The Indians have had a highly recruited senior transfer in to play quarterback for each year of Miller’s high school career. After sitting behind Brooks Bentley during his freshman season, Jadyn Glasser, now at Central Michigan, and Ryan Downes, now at Booker and committed to play for Cornell, joined the team the following spring. 

Facing a crowded path to playing time, Miller transferred to Riverview.

File Photo

That didn’t work out as imagined either.

Braxton Thomas, a senior quarterback in 2023-24, beat out Miller for the job. Despite not playing quarterback, Miller’s hard work in the weight room — his max bench press is 325 pounds and his max squat is 425 pounds — gave him the chance to play receiver.

He finished the season as the team’s second-leading receiver with 26 receptions for 321 yards and three touchdowns. 

Miller finally had the chance to play quarterback this season for the Rams. However, Riverview leaned into its running game, and Miller had to split snaps with Parker Nippert and Logan Carrillo.

Now three years into his high school career, Miller is still undeterred despite having good reason to be frustrated. 

“If you have a goal and you’re really trying to achieve that goal, you have to have perseverance,” said Mark Miller, Anthony’s father. “Those little setbacks, in the bigger picture, they don’t matter. You have to stay focused and use any setback as a springboard to the future, and I think (Anthony) is extremely mentally tough.”

Gerald Perry, the boys track and field coach and defensive coordinator for the football team at Riverview, said Miller’s work ethic has been "amazing since Day 1."

“He pushes the guys to get better,” Perry said. “He challenges the guys to run. He’s the ultimate leader and the ultimate competitor. That’s the best thing a coach wants in an athlete. Maybe you haven’t gotten what you’ve wanted, but you’re going to work to get it, and Ant Miller is that kid.”

Miller could have spent his spring semesters the past three years stewing about missed opportunities in football. Instead, he devoted that time to teaching himself how to throw a javelin and running sprints — he’s the team’s second-fastest runner in the 100-meter and is a member of the Rams’ 4x100 relay team.

Riverview doesn’t have a coach who specializes in javelin, so Miller did whatever he could to train himself.

That meant watching YouTube videos and recording this throw to compare them. That also led him to reach out to former U.S. Olympian Tom Petranoff via social media.

Petranoff held the world record for the longest javelin throw (99.72 meters) from May 1983 to June 1984. Miller made the trip up to the US Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to work with Petranoff. 

Miller isn’t satisfied yet. He said his technique throwing a javelin still needs some work and there’s room to improve. Any improvements would mean Miller, who is 3.49 meters short of the longest throw in FL, would be among the best high school javelin throwers in the state.

And if anyone can find a way to get the most out of themselves, Miller has proven to be one of those people.