Cal-Nevada Invite Results: Day One
CLAREMONT, Calif. - Lance Walkington of the Cal Poly Pomona men's track and field team went head-to-head with the nation's best and came away with a new school record Saturday during day one of the Cal-Nevada Invitational.
Saturday's final in the javelin throw featured Walkington and UC San Diego's Nick Howe, the 2010 NCAA Division II national champion in the event. On his three final tosses, Walkington came away with 211-3, 198-11 and the school record 222-0. Howe edged his competitor by two inches on the last throw, going 211-3, 197-7 and 222-2.
"Nick and I weren't throwing well early because of the wind but we got going in the finals," Walkington said. "It seemed like one of us would go ahead by an inch and then the other one would come back to take the lead by an inch. I just tried to keep my technique on that last throw and got the 222."
Entering the day, Walkington's top mark of the 2011 season had come on March 5 at Cal State Fullerton with a distance of 207-7 to match the Broncos' program record. He pushed well past that mark Saturday, outdistancing it by more than 14 feet.
"Although Lance might have been disappointed to come in second, it certainly shows how fast he's progressed in that he can match the national champion throw for throw," CPP assistant coach Lauren Reimer said. "This will certainly not be the last time Lance gets to stand on that podium."
Several other CPP student-athletes posted impressive marks Saturday in Claremont, including
Jacob Deavers' 14.93 time in the prelims of the 110-meter hurdles to qualify for the 2:15 p.m. Sunday final.
Two Broncos will be featured in the 400-meter dash finals to be held at 2:35 p.m. on Sunday.
Corey Arnold and
Carter Griffin tallied respective times of 49.27 and 49.88 to advance among the top nine.
Vincent Huitt put together a strong performance in the hammer throw, recording a season-best mark of 169-5.
Sunday's schedule starts up at 11:30 a.m. with the discus event. The running events begin at 1:30 p.m. with the 4x100 relays and the day finishes at 4:10 p.m. with the 4x400 relays.
