GULF SHORES, Ala. –
Catylynn Duff equaled the best finish ever by a College of Idaho thrower, earning All-America honors in the hammer throw, with two runners and a relay team advancing to the finals on Day 1 of the NAIA Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium.
Duff placed fourth overall in the hammer, equaling the feat first established in 2018 by Hayley Morse in the shot put. The junior was in fifth place after the three preliminary throws and moved into third-place with her first effort of the finals (54.05 meters / 177 feet, 4 inches) – but was passed in the final round of throws by just four inches.
Her effort gave C of I five team points – with Duff also competing Friday in the discus.
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, both
Larissa Mauer and
Sage Martin qualified for Friday's final – competing in completely different heats. Martin had the fifth-fastest time among the two heats, clocking a personal best time of 11:05.52 – recording one of five automatic qualifying marks from the first section. Mauer claimed a victory in Section 2 – though her winning time of 11:13.42 was nearly eight seconds slower than Martin.
The duo will be among 14 competitors in the championship race.
The Yotes also saw their 4x800-meter relay earn a spot in Thursday's final – narrowly missing the school record with their time of 9:14.95 – fourth in Section 1, but just three-tenths of a second from winning the heat – and eighth overall.
C of I's 4x100-meter relay failed to qualify for the finals, placing sixth in their section and 18th overall with a time of 48.40 seconds, as did
Kiersten Lancaster in the 400-meter hurdles, as the senior took seventh in her section and 11th overall (1:04.06).
