Kristen Clark finishes seventh in javelin at USATF Championships
Jun 21, 2018 | Track and Field
DES MOINES, Iowa – Texas A&M senior Kristen Clark completed her season placing seventh in the javelin during the first day of the USATF Championships with a throw of 167 feet, 1 inch (50.93) in wet conditions at Drake Stadium.
In prelim races, three Aggies reached the semifinals. Infinite Tucker advanced in the men's 400m hurdles while Jessica Beard moved on in the women's 400m and Aaliyah Brown won her heat in the 100m. They will each race in semifinals on Friday.
Clark produced her best mark in the second round. She was in sixth place after the first three rounds as the top eight throwers moved on to the final three rounds. Clark's best toss in the final was 162-9 (49.61) on her final attempt.
"This is my first time to ever qualify for US Championships," noted Clark, who earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. "So, I was really excited. It's for sure been a long season with us just finishing NCAAs. The mindset going into this meet, I feel like it's hard to get it to where it is for the NCAAs.
"I was just trying to have fun today and let this kind of be a bonus round to my season. It's a good way to end it. How fun that I get to end it here."
Kara Winger, who led from an opening round 186-7 (56.89), closed out the victory with a final throw that measured 206-3 (62.88). Florida's Avione Allgood finished second at 185-6 (56.54) while Ariana Ince, a former volunteer assistant at Texas A&M, placed third with a throw of 183-7 (55.97).
Cruising through the first half of his race, Tucker led the field from lane six. Reaching the final curve, Khallifah Rosser and Michael Stigler moved past Tucker. Rosser won the heat in 49.55 as Craig Allen claimed second from lane eight in 50.24. Stigler finished third at 50.33 while Tucker placed fourth in 50.85.
Tucker was one of four runners to advance on time to the semifinal.
With a 51.97 Beard posted the fifth best time among the qualifiers advancing to the semifinal. She placed second in her prelim heat behind a 51.39 by Courtney Okolo, who had the fastest qualifying time overall.
A pair of Aggie alums raced in the same heat of the women's 100m. Aaliyah Brown won the prelim in 11.20 (1.8 wind) while Jeneba Tarmoh placed fourth in 11.40. Brown had an auto qualifier to Friday's semifinal, while Tarmoh didn't advance as the last time qualifier was 11.33.
In the men's 400m, Mylik Kerley just missed the last time qualifier to reach the semifinal with his clocking of 46.58 that placed him fourth in his heat. The final time qualifier was Calvin Smith at 46.49 as he placed fourth in his heat.
Racing in the first heat of the 1,500m, Alex Riba led the field of 10 through the first pair of laps. Riba's leading splits included 46.50 (300m), 62.0 (400m), 1:49.47 (700m), and 2:05.1 (800m). As the field reached 1,100m, Riba was in sixth place as he came through at 2:51.53.
On the last lap of the race, Riba split 56.23 as he clocked a time of 3:47.76 to finish in seventh place ahead of Texas alum Leo Manzano (3:48.51).
USATF Championships – Des Moines, Iowa – Texas A&M Schedule
Friday, June 22
4:40 p.m. Women 400m Hurdles First Round Shamier Little
4:50 p.m. Men 400m Hurdles Semifinals Infinite Tucker
5:30 p.m. Women 100m Semifinals Aaliyah Brown
6:05 p.m. Women 400m Semifinals Jessica Beard
7:20 p.m. Women 100m FINAL (Aaliyah Brown)
In prelim races, three Aggies reached the semifinals. Infinite Tucker advanced in the men's 400m hurdles while Jessica Beard moved on in the women's 400m and Aaliyah Brown won her heat in the 100m. They will each race in semifinals on Friday.
Clark produced her best mark in the second round. She was in sixth place after the first three rounds as the top eight throwers moved on to the final three rounds. Clark's best toss in the final was 162-9 (49.61) on her final attempt.
"This is my first time to ever qualify for US Championships," noted Clark, who earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. "So, I was really excited. It's for sure been a long season with us just finishing NCAAs. The mindset going into this meet, I feel like it's hard to get it to where it is for the NCAAs.
"I was just trying to have fun today and let this kind of be a bonus round to my season. It's a good way to end it. How fun that I get to end it here."
Kara Winger, who led from an opening round 186-7 (56.89), closed out the victory with a final throw that measured 206-3 (62.88). Florida's Avione Allgood finished second at 185-6 (56.54) while Ariana Ince, a former volunteer assistant at Texas A&M, placed third with a throw of 183-7 (55.97).
Cruising through the first half of his race, Tucker led the field from lane six. Reaching the final curve, Khallifah Rosser and Michael Stigler moved past Tucker. Rosser won the heat in 49.55 as Craig Allen claimed second from lane eight in 50.24. Stigler finished third at 50.33 while Tucker placed fourth in 50.85.
Tucker was one of four runners to advance on time to the semifinal.
With a 51.97 Beard posted the fifth best time among the qualifiers advancing to the semifinal. She placed second in her prelim heat behind a 51.39 by Courtney Okolo, who had the fastest qualifying time overall.
A pair of Aggie alums raced in the same heat of the women's 100m. Aaliyah Brown won the prelim in 11.20 (1.8 wind) while Jeneba Tarmoh placed fourth in 11.40. Brown had an auto qualifier to Friday's semifinal, while Tarmoh didn't advance as the last time qualifier was 11.33.
In the men's 400m, Mylik Kerley just missed the last time qualifier to reach the semifinal with his clocking of 46.58 that placed him fourth in his heat. The final time qualifier was Calvin Smith at 46.49 as he placed fourth in his heat.
Racing in the first heat of the 1,500m, Alex Riba led the field of 10 through the first pair of laps. Riba's leading splits included 46.50 (300m), 62.0 (400m), 1:49.47 (700m), and 2:05.1 (800m). As the field reached 1,100m, Riba was in sixth place as he came through at 2:51.53.
On the last lap of the race, Riba split 56.23 as he clocked a time of 3:47.76 to finish in seventh place ahead of Texas alum Leo Manzano (3:48.51).
USATF Championships – Des Moines, Iowa – Texas A&M Schedule
Friday, June 22
4:40 p.m. Women 400m Hurdles First Round Shamier Little
4:50 p.m. Men 400m Hurdles Semifinals Infinite Tucker
5:30 p.m. Women 100m Semifinals Aaliyah Brown
6:05 p.m. Women 400m Semifinals Jessica Beard
7:20 p.m. Women 100m FINAL (Aaliyah Brown)
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and FieldWednesday, June 17
Monday, June 08
Friday, June 05
Wednesday, February 25
