Dana Pounds Wins National Title in the Javelin
6/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- With the second-best throw of her life, Air Force junior Dana Pounds (Lexington, Ky.) claimed the national javelin title at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, June 10. Pounds dismantled the field with a throw of 185'4" to win the prestigious national title.
With the win, Pounds becomes the Academy's first female national champion at the Division I level and the first track and field champion since Callie Calhoun won the 10,000-meter title at the 1991 Division II national outdoor meet.
While completing the trifecta of conference, regional and national champion, Pounds quickly distanced herself from the competition on her first throw. She topped the national runner-up -- Oregon's Sarah Malone -- by 16 feet. Four of Pounds' six throws went farther than the second-place mark of 169'4". In fact, of the other competitors' 57 total attempts, only three cleared the 50-meter barrier, while five of Pounds' exceeded the mark.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Pounds said following the meet. "To win it in three years... my coach must really know what he's talking about!"
She is just the sixth Mountain West Conference female athlete (first in a field event) to earn the nation's top honor -- and the first that has not represented BYU.
Pounds joins an elite quartet of former Falcon greats (Calhoun, Jill Wood, Jim Murphy and Gail Conway) who have won national titles, while becoming the first female to earn All-America honors in the same event during back-to-back seasons since Kristi Lowenthal (indoor high jump) in 1995-96. (On the men's side, Paul Gensic accomplished the feat with All-America pole vault honors during the indoor seasons of 2004-05.)
"This is a great feeling," she continued. "To get here ... and just having a shot at it after only throwing the javelin for three years is awesome. I can't wait to get out and talk to my parents and friends about this."
The team's MVP, Pounds wrapped up an amazing season which saw her take the NCAA lead at 188'8" following the Mt. SAC Relays. In the finals of any meet, she has been the top collegiate competitor in each one.
With the win, Pounds becomes the Academy's first female national champion at the Division I level and the first track and field champion since Callie Calhoun won the 10,000-meter title at the 1991 Division II national outdoor meet.
While completing the trifecta of conference, regional and national champion, Pounds quickly distanced herself from the competition on her first throw. She topped the national runner-up -- Oregon's Sarah Malone -- by 16 feet. Four of Pounds' six throws went farther than the second-place mark of 169'4". In fact, of the other competitors' 57 total attempts, only three cleared the 50-meter barrier, while five of Pounds' exceeded the mark.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Pounds said following the meet. "To win it in three years... my coach must really know what he's talking about!"
She is just the sixth Mountain West Conference female athlete (first in a field event) to earn the nation's top honor -- and the first that has not represented BYU.
Pounds joins an elite quartet of former Falcon greats (Calhoun, Jill Wood, Jim Murphy and Gail Conway) who have won national titles, while becoming the first female to earn All-America honors in the same event during back-to-back seasons since Kristi Lowenthal (indoor high jump) in 1995-96. (On the men's side, Paul Gensic accomplished the feat with All-America pole vault honors during the indoor seasons of 2004-05.)
"This is a great feeling," she continued. "To get here ... and just having a shot at it after only throwing the javelin for three years is awesome. I can't wait to get out and talk to my parents and friends about this."
The team's MVP, Pounds wrapped up an amazing season which saw her take the NCAA lead at 188'8" following the Mt. SAC Relays. In the finals of any meet, she has been the top collegiate competitor in each one.
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