Angelica Howard Throws Major Personal Best in Weight Throw
3/6/2009 12:00:00 AM
March 6, 2009
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - In a last effort to qualify for the NCAA Championships, the women's track and field team is competing at the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame. Two athletes competed Friday night, but neither was successful in earning automatic qualifiers or bettering their provisional marks.
Angelica Howard had a good throw in the 20-lb. weight throw, in fact it was a season best by over two and a half feet, but it was short of a provisional mark. Her throw of 58-9 1/2 placed her sixth in a stacked field. Howard's weight throw season has come to an end with her improving her personal best mark by over four feet throughout the season. She will throw the shot put Saturday at 11:00 a.m. (EST).
"Howard had a major personal best today and I think for her it was probably a bit of a learning experience because we were working with her through some mental preparation," head coach Sandy Fowler said. "I think she did better with her nerves today and that showed."
Chealsea Taylor had a tough day in the high jump with a clearance of just 5-7 1/4. Taylor had previously cleared a provisional mark of 5-11 1/2 earlier in the season, however, so she still has a shot at the NCAA Championships. She is currently ranked 13th in the nation as a high jumper. Taylor will now await word from the NCAA if she will compete at the NCAA Championships March 13-14 in College Station, Texas.
"Chealsea just had a little bit of a down day today," Fowler said. "She cleared a few of those bars by a lot, but came down on it unfortunately. I think she was holding a little too long up top and coming down on the bar. She's ready though."
The meet will commence Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (EST) with the men's triple jump.
