Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
NCAA Regional
Three Rams advance to national championship meet
5/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Outdoor Track & Field
May 30, 2009
By John Manuszak
Athletic Media Relations
NORMAN, Okla. – Senior throwers Missy Faubus and Alex Godell, along with junior middle-distance runner Wil Buchanan advanced to the NCAA national championship meet on Saturday with top five performances in their respective events at the NCAA Midwest regional. The NCAA meet will be held on June 10-13 at the University of Arkansas.
“We thought those three had the best chance of qualifying for nationals,” said Head Coach Brian Bedard. “They had strong performances and I’m happy they advanced.”
Faubus finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 52 feet, 4.75 inches and will compete at the NCAA meet for the second consecutive season. She participated in the NCAA meet in Des Moines, Iowa last season in both the shot put and discus.
“Missy opened up strong and had her best throw in the opening round,” Bedard said. “It was her second-best throw of the year.”
Godell took home third place in the hammer throw with a toss of 211-07 and will compete in the NCAA meet for the first time in his career.
“Once Alex reached a mark I thought would qualify him for nationals, he really went for it,” said Bedard. “He barely fouled on two throws, one of which would have won the meet by at least a meter. It just shows us how good he can be.”
Buchanan continued his late-season surge to finish third in the 1,500-meter run with a personal-best time of 3:46.59.
“Wil ran a really smart race and finished well,” said Bedard. “He keeps getting better each week and Coach Bryan Berryhill has been really happy with his workouts. We knew he would run well and he did.”
Other CSU athletes that competed on Saturday but did not advance to the national meet were Jennifer Ugochukwu (25th in shot put; 46-6.75), Doug Dieker (17th in pole vault; 16-1.25), Kirsten Anthony (10th in 1,500; 4:37.24), Marissa Saunders (12th in 1,500; 4:46.46), Nicole Peters (15th in 3,000-meter steeplechase; 10:51.51), Nnamdi Agwu (24th in triple jump; 47-11.25), Spenser Lynass (20th in 3,000-meter steeplechase; 9:30.95) and Jake Keyser (DNF in 3,000-meter steeplechase).
