Welch Sits Atop All of DII in the Hammer Throw
The University of Findlay men's and women's track and field teams sent athletes to the All-Ohio Track and Field Championships held at the University of Cincinnati and to the Sea Ray Relays held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN for meets that began on Friday, April 11th and will conclude Saturday, April 12th.
All-Ohio Championships (Cincinnati Results
Women:
In the hammer throw competition, freshman Erica King took ninth place with a throw that distanced 52.86m. The toss had enough distance to qualify for the NCAA provisional in the event.
Junior Pam Showman and sophomore Lydia Guagenti were busy competing in the heptathlon and will conclude tomorrow.
Men:
Junior Justin Welch proved to be not only the best in Ohio, but one of the best in the nation in the men's hammer throw as he won the competition by over 42.5 feet with a throw that measured 70.38 meters or 230'11". This heave gave Welch an automatic ticket to the NCAA National Championships, is a new school record in the event, is the best throw by any Division II athlete this season, and ranks third all-time in the history of Division II track and field.
Also in the hammer throw was senior Marcus Vicars also competed in the event and earned an eighth place finish with a throw of 51.18m.
Junior Jacob Miller collected a pair of first place finishes in the decathlon and will finish his events tomorrow.
Tennessee Relays (Knoxville) Results
Women:
Sophomore Samantha Grippe took 12th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:14.00. This time exactly is the NCAA provisional mark for this event.
Men:
Junior Dillon Webster competed and won the 800 meter run with his time of 1:49.90. This falls just four-tenths of a second shy of the NCAA automatic mark but does qualify for the provisional mark. The time also breaks the school record that was set in 2007 by Kendell Simon.
Senior Justin Eilerman competed in the men 1500 meter run and took 17th with a time of 3:57.05.
Both meets will conclude tomorrow.