Saturday, May 24, 2014

ALLENDALE, Mich. - Alaska Anchorage's Franz Burghagen hurled the javelin 222 feet, 7 inches Saturday to finish second in the NCAA Division II Track and Field National Championships at Grand Valley State Stadium.

Burghagen was one of four GNAC athletes to reach the finals in the event.  Three of them placed in the Top 8 to earn All-American honors.

Meanwhile, Western Washington's Frank Catelli became the first shot putter in GNAC history to crack the 60-foot barrier, finishing third with a throw of 60-10 1/2 as he added 15 1/2 inches to his own GNAC record.

He actually broke the 60-foot barrier twice; first with his throw of 60-10 1/2 on his third attempt and then on his fifth try when he putted 60-5 3/4.

Western Washington  also had two All-American performances in the javelin.  Slater Hirst finished fourth with a career-best of 216-7 and John Haskin finished eighth with a throw of 204-11.

Just missing a Top 8 position in the javelin was Justin Larson of Western Oregon who finished ninth with a mark of 203-10.  The Wolves' Shane Brooks placed 12th with a distance of 198-1.

Burghagen, a junior from Berlin, Germany, improved on his third-place finish from last year though his distance was nearly eight feet shorter when he threw the implement 230-4.

For a while Saturday he was in the lead after posting what turned out to be his best throw on his first attempt.  However, on the third-go-around, David Reinhardt of Slippery Rock, who threw 186-10 and 196-1 in his two attempts, unleashed a throw of 225-10.  That was just one of two throws of 200 feet for the eventual winner.

Meanwhile, Burghagen was more consistent as he had throws of 207-4, 203-6, 207-6 and 218-8 on his last four tries after fouling in the second round.

Hirst's fourth-place effort was 23 inches better than his previous best.  That left him in fifth place on the GNAC all-time list.  Haskin's eighth-place throw was just three inches shy of his career best, while Larson and Haskin came up three feet and seven sheet shy of their career bests.

In the lone running event involving a GNAC male athlete Saturday, Alex Donigian finished fifth in the 100 meters in a time of 10.61 to earn four team points for the Vikings.  Donigian, who became the first GNAC athlete to score points in the 100, came into the meet seeded just 14th.

WWU finished the meet in 15th place with 16 points, the most-ever for the Vikings in the 13-year history of the GNAC.  Alaska Anchorage had 10 points, good for 22nd place.

NCAA Division II Men's Track & Field (May 22-24 at Allendale, Mich.)

Team Scores  - 1. St. Augustine's 112, 2. Adams State 67, 3. Ashland 53, 4. TAMU-Kingsville 49, 5. Pittsburg State 36, 15. Western Washington 16, 22. Alaska Anchorage 10.

SATURDAY:  Javelin - 2. Franz Burghagen, UAA, 67.84 - 222-7; 4. Slater Hirst, WWU, 66.02 - 216-7; 8. John Haskin, WWU, 62.47 - 204-11; 9. Justin Larson, WOU, 62.47 - 204-11; 13. Shane Brooks, WOU, 60.39 - 198-1. Shot Put  - 3.  Frank Catelli, WWU, 18.55 - 60-10 1/2.  100 - 5. Alex Donigian, WWU, 10.61.

FRIDAY: Decathlon  - 7. Cody Thomas, UAA, 7189 (Day 2: 110 Hurdles - 9th, 15.23; Discus - 10th, 37.68 - 123-7; Pole Vault - 14th, 3.90 - 12-9 1/2; Javelin - 7th, 49.25 - 161-7; 1500 - 8th, 4:44.57). Discus - 13. Frank Catelli, WWU, 51.29 - 168-3. 200 Prelims - 13. Tyrell Williams, WOU,  21.31.  800 Prelims - 18. Josh Hanna, WOU, 1:54.62.

THURSDAY: Decathlon  3 - Cody Thomas, UAA, 3929 (Day 1: 100 - 4th, 11.02; Long Jump - 6th, 6.88 - 22-7; Shot Put - 10th, 11.96 - 39-3; High Jump - 3rd, 1.98 - 6-6; 400 - 1st. 48.21.   1500 Prelims - 16. Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 3:58.62. 100 Prelims - 10. Alex Donigian, WWU, 10.46 (advances); 11. Rimar Christie, NNU, 10.46. Steeplechase Prelims - 19.  Brady Beagley, WOU. 9:55.64; 20. Oliver Jorgensen, SFU, 10:01.16.