Brent Lagace produced a throw of 66.07 meters (216-9) to take third place in the men’s javelin and earn All-American status at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Marion, Indiana.
“It was really fun,” said Lagace. “We had a really good group of guys out there that were all cheering for each other. I had a lot of teammates cheering for me as well as my coach. I felt very relaxed and confident.”
Westmont's Brent Lagace at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
The senior recorded a 63.48 meter throw on his final attempt in the third flight to qualify for three more throws in the nine-competitor final. On his first throw in the finals, Lagace improved his mark to 64.00 meters but fell into fourth place behind Andy White of British Columbia whose first throw went 64.62 meters. However, Lagace regained third place on his second throw which was his longest of the day.
“It felt great to keep building and just keep improving,” said Lagace. “I came here with the goal to win but the two guys that beat me had amazing throws. It was an amazing competition. I felt like I had a really good meet and felt really good today. It was a lot of fun.”
The event was won by Curtis Moss of British Columbia who threw for 73.13 meters. Paul Roshau of Concordia (Ore.) took second with a throw of 70.54 meters. Westmont freshman Andrew Kolodinski took eleventh place with a mark of 58.86 meters (193-01).
Earlier in the day, Eric Williams qualified for the semifinals of the men’s 800 meters by posting a time of 1:54.63 in the first heat of the preliminary round. Williams had a fifth place finish but qualified to advance on the basis of the second fastest time outside of top-four finishers in the three preliminary races. Williams’ time was fourteenth best in the prelims.
“It was a quick first 200 but I held back because sometimes I burn out my legs in the first 200 going out too hard,” reported Williams. “So I hung back and put myself in fifth place around the turn. I didn’t want to get boxed in, nor did I want to lead.
“Down the stretch, I knew I wasn’t (an) automatic (qualifier) so I had to be as close as I could. I gave it a lot and leaned at the line and caught the sixth place finisher.”
Williams will compete in the semifinals tomorrow. Start time for the event is scheduled for 3:35 p.m. EDT.
“I’ve never been here before or run like this,” said Williams who acknowledge being a bit nervous about tomorrow’s semifinal. “It is the fastest I’ve ever run in my life. But it is encouraging to get out here, run well and know I can run faster. It is good to get a race under my belt. I was feeling sluggish when we were doing our workouts here in the heat. Even in this race I was feeling sluggish. I’m hoping that having a race under my belt will wake my body up. Typically, I have been a good repeat runner, so I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
Jacob Goodin had a disappointing race in the men’s 1500, finishing in tenth in the first heat of the primaries in a time of 4:01.16. Nathan Kemp finished eleventh in the first heat of the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase, posting a time of 9:44.71.
Chrissa Trudelle ran the 10,000 meters with a time of 38:46.56. She placed sixteenth in a field of 44 runners. Kate Stuart placed eighth in the first heat of the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 11:39.52, which was a personal best.
In the women’s javelin, Kristin Hempy struggled after scratching on her first attempt and managed a throw of just 30.01 meters (98-5).
In addition to Williams’ 800 meter semifinal race tomorrow, Trudelle and Danica Rosendale will compete in the women’s 5,000 meter prelims and Matthew Day will compete in the men’s version of the same event. The women’s race is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. EDT, with the men’s race following at 7:30.
