Gustavus Adolphus College athlete Lisa Brown capped off an exciting track and field season by finishing 13th in the javelin throw at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on a hot, humid Saturday afternoon. The Lake Crystal, Minn. native recorded a throw of 48.08 meters (157 feet, 9 inches), and narrowly missed participating in Monday night’s javelin throw final as the top 12 finishers qualified for the finals. Brown, the 2008 NCAA Division III Javelin Throw Champion, was ranked 12th nationally at the start of competition.
Brown’s throw was shorter than her NCAA Division III Championship throw, but the majority of the athletes threw below their Olympic Trial qualifying marks, due somewhat in part to the weather conditions. However, Brown said after the competition, “I proved to myself that I can compete at an elite level, and I do belong here. I have already set a goal to come back and participate in the 2012 Olympic Trials.”
Gustavus track and field coach Tom Thorkelson was extremely proud of Brown’s performance. “Lisa has established herself as one of the top javelin throwers in the country and competing at this meet will only motivate her to get better.”
Brown finished sixth among athletes with collegiate affiliations, all of which were Division I institutions. “Lisa is one of the youngest throwers in the country at this level. After having only thrown at such a high level for just three years, she is only beginning to realize her potential,” said Thorkelson.
The javelin throw finals will take place Monday night at 8:20 p.m. (PST) in Eugene, Oregon, and will be televised on NBC.
Javelin Throw Preliminaries Results – Top 12 advanced to finals
1. Dana Pounds – U.S. Air Force 57.25m 187-10
2. Kim Kreiner – Nike 54.07m 177-05
3. Alicia DeShasier – unattached 53.80m 176-06
4. Kara Patterson – Purdue 53.57m 175-09
Ruby Radocaj – unattached 53.57m 175-09
6. Rachel Yurkovich – Oregon 52.55m 172-05
7. Amy Backel – Oklahoma 52.08m 170-10
8. Samantha Ford – unattached 51.85m 170-01
9. Lindsey Blaine – Nike 51.65m 169-05
10. Katie Coronado – New Mexico 51.34m 168-05
11. Kayla Wilkinson – Nebraska 50.01m 164-01
12. Mallory Webb – unattached 48.48m 159-01
13. Lisa Brown – Gustavus Adolph. 48.08m 157-09
14. Anna Raynor – Klub Keihas 47.95m 157-04
15. Deloma Miller – unattached 47.07m 154-05
16. Heidi Nadeau – Penn State 47.02m 154-03
17. Ashley McCrea – Oregon 46.70m 153-02
18. Inger Appanaitis – unattached 46.63m 153-00
19. Stephanie Zollman – unattached 46.54m 152-08
20. Hannah Warfield – unattached 45.77m 150-02
21. Jessica Wingfield – Texas A&M 45.09m 147-11
22. Alexandria Shaw – C S L B 44.85m 147-02
23. Carly Bloomfield – unattached 44.24m 145-02
24. Hannah Carson – Az Cheetahs DNS