Utah State University’s Krista Larson earned All-American honors by finishing ninth in the hammer throw Friday [June 12] at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at John McDonnell Field, hosted by the University of Arkansas.
Larson earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I All-American honors by being among the top eight American finishers.
Larson becomes USU’s first female overall All-American since Jennifer Twitchell earned the honor in 2007 at the Indoor National Championships and the first female for outdoor track and field since Shae Jones-Bair in 2000. Overall, Larson is the eighth Aggie woman to earn All-American accolades. Larson is the first USU female hammer thrower to earn All-American honors and only the third field athlete.
After earning an at-large bid to the championships and entering the national meet No. 16 in the rankings, Larson tabbed 12th-place in the qualifying round Wednesday with a distance of 188-01 (57.33m), earning her a spot in Friday’s final round.
Larson, a senior from Kaysville, Utah (Davis HS), threw for a distance of 194-03 (58.21m), tabbing ninth-place.
“I started out really shaky, especially on Wednesday,” Larson said. “I wasn’t sure I would even make it to today’s finals but I did. Today I threw better and had a good mark.”
Larson launched her All-American throw on her sixth and final throw. She topped the 10th-place finisher, Brittany Pryor of Vrigina Tech (188-10, 57.55m) by almost six feet. Larson was three feet short of the eighth-place finisher, Rhode Islands’, Jasmine Jennings (197-04, 60.15m).
Stevi Large of Akron was the national champion with a mark of 223-04 (68.08m). Western Athletic Conference champion Sharon Ayala from Fresno State was sixth with a 200-00 (60.96m) mark.
“It was a great competition and Krista threw really well. She’s going out on a good note, finishing her career as an All-American,” veteran USU head coach Gregg Gensel said “She came into this ranked 16th, and she finished ninth. She battled hard and performed great.”
Friday’s competition was delayed for four hours due to weather delay and tornado warnings.
“The weather delays made it hard to keep focused,” Larson said. “I just had to tell myself to keep focused and compete on each throw.”
“Some of the other throwers were rattled from being wet and the weather delay, but Krista hung tough and showed her true grit and character and had some great throws,” Gensel said.
Larson was excited about her All-American honor.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Larson said. “Making it to nationals and being an All-American were goals for such a long time and it’s awesome to reach those goals. It is very rewarding for all the hard work to pay off, and it is undescrible to be an All-American. I’m just so excited that words cannot describe it.”
Larson ends her Aggie career as an All-American, school record holder, two-time all-WAC honoreee. Off the field of competition, Larson finishes as a four-time academic all-WAC selection as well as earning academic All-America accolades. She will receive her bachelor’s degree next winter in physical education.
“It’s a tremendous tribute to her when you consider the road that she took to get here,” Gensel said. “She’s such a dedicated and hard worker that she deserves this wonderful honor.”
This concludes the 2009 men’s and women’s track and field action for the Utah State.
UTAH STATE Women’s All-Americans
Ime Akpan (1x)
1990 — 55 Hurdles (Indoor)
LaDonna Antoine (3x)
1996, 97 — 400m
1997 — 400 (Indoor)
Candy Cashell (1x)
1982 — High Jump
Jane Durfey (1x)
1999 — 400 Hurdles
Shae Jones-Bair (3x)
1998, 99 — Pole Vault (indoor)
2000 — Pole Vault
KRISTA LARSON (1x)
2009 — Hammer Throw
Alisa Nicodemus (3x)
1992 — Cross Country
1993 — Mile (Indoor)
1993 — 5000 (indoor)
Jennifer Twitchell (1x)
2007 — Mile (Indoor)
UTAH STATE TRACK & FIELD
NCAA National Championships
John McDonnell Field - University of Arkansas - Fayetteville, Ark.
Utah State Results
WOMEN
Hammer Throw — 9. Krista Larson 194-03 (58.21m)
Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics homepage Web site.
