The Newberg Graphic
| Krebs earns shot at defending national title |
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| On his last attempt, the javelin thrower qualifies for the nationals with a mark of 204-5 |
SALEM - Defending NCAA Division III national javelin champion Joel Krebs of George Fox had one remaining throw to qualify for the 2008 national championships Thursday at the Willamette University Last Chance track meet. His throw of 204-feet 5-inches easily surpassed the mark necessary to qualify. Krebs, who has been battling a sore arm all spring, surpassed the NCAA provisional mark of 188-0 by more than 16 feet with his final throw of the day, finishing second in the meet while posting the fourth-best mark in the nation. His previous best this spring had been a 186-1 on March 15 in the Frank Haskins Invitational. He will now get an opportunity to defend his title in the D-III national championships, slated for May 22-24 at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The Bruins finished first in three events at the Last Chance meet, although they had no other NCAA qualifying marks. In the women's long jump, Cindy Walsh took first with a distance of 18-0.5, but she already has a provisional qualifying mark. Assistant coach Michelle Forbes won the high jump with a 5-5 and Katie Alaimo finished second with a 5-1. The women's 4 x 100 relay team also won with a time of 48.87, 22/100ths of a second away from provisional status. The Bruins had three second-place finishes. Lizzie Alaimo finished second in the women's 100 hurdles (15.82), Emily Hodgin finished No. 2 in the women's triple jump (35-6.75) and Cam Eberhart earned a second spot in the men's 3,000 steeplechase (10:26.40). Jessica Brassard was third in the women's long jump (15-9.75) and Jake Weber took third in the men's long jump (22-1.75). |