By Chandler Harris, Assistant Sports Editor
ACU javelin thrower Linda Brivule reached an automatic qualifying mark for the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championship, while three other athletes provisionally qualified with their performances in two separate meets.
Decathlete James Hardin traveled to San Angelo on Thursday and Friday for the ASU Spring Break Multi-Event Meet. Hardin provisionally qualified for the national meet by placing third with 6,408 points. Angelo State’s Ryan McWilliams won the event with 7,143 points, and Central Missouri’s Darius Walker finished in second with 6,585 points.
Hardin won the javelin event and finished third in both the discus and the pole vault.
“He was a little disappointed,” said Don Hood, head track and field coach. “Maybe his expectations were too high coming in, but I was really pleased with the mental toughness he showed when he wasn’t performing his best.”
Hardin is still feeling the effects of having mono in the fall and also a recent hamstring injury, but he should be much better in just two weeks, Hood said.
The other athletes who competed last week traveled to Waco for the Dr. Pepper Invitational, sponsored by Baylor University.
“Overall, it was pretty decent,” Hood said. “We had some really strong performances, but the competition wasn’t just super deep.”
Brivule’s performance ranks as the second-best javelin throw in the history of NCAA Division II. Her throw, which won the event and earned her an automatic qualification, went 175 feet, 8 inches. The NCAA Division II record is held by ACU alumna Geraldine George, who threw 177-6 at the 2000 Texas Relays.
“Her mark this year is 20 feet better than it was at this time last year,” Hood said. “She beat everyone by 30 feet.”
Amos Sang, who won both the 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter, also impressed Hood.
“He usually runs in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter, so this was more of a practice meet for him,” Hood said. “This was a good opportunity to test his fitness, and I’d say he passed the test.”
Nick Jones and Paige Newby also provisionally qualified for the national meet with their performances. Jones, the defending national champion in the discus, finished second in the shot put, while Newby finished third in the discus. Jones also competed in the men’s discus but did not place.
Hood said the wind played a major factor in the discus event.
“The wind was just knocking them down,” Hood said. “It made about a 15-20 foot difference, unless you were left-handed.”
Friday, ACU will sponsor the ACU Triangular meet at Elmer Gray Stadium, where the Wildcats will face a solid competition in Division I teams, Texas Tech and Oral Roberts.
