Finley Records Season-Best Mark, Moves Up in National Rankings
April 25, 2010
SAN DIEGO, Calif. –
Competing against the top discus throwers in the world, Kansas freshman Mason Finley turned in the best performance of his collegiate career Saturday at the Triton Invitational on the campus of UCSD. Finley threw 59.84m (196-4 ft.) to finish fifth overall and second among collegiate athletes in the men’s Invitational discus throw. With that mark, Finley currently sits in third on the NCAA descending order list.
Big 12 rival Julian Wruck of Texas Tech is leading the nation with his mark of 61.02m (200-2 ft.), followed by USC’s Aaron Dan, who edged Finley this weekend at the Triton Invitational by a mere five inches. However, Finley has beaten both these athletes on a previous occasion, when he threw 191 feet to win the event at the Texas Relays on April 2.
In addition to facing several of the top athletes in the West region at the Triton Invitational, Finley competed alongside the world’s best discus thrower in Jason Young. Young currently owns the top mark in the world for the 2010 season at 69.90m, which he set on March 26 in Lubbock, Texas. Young won the event Saturday in San Diego after throwing 66.84m (219-3 ft.).
Senior Brian Bishop was also among the field of elite discus throwers competing at the Triton Invitational, as he finished ninth overall with a mark of 55.70m (182-9 f.). Bishop just missed the cut for the finals, but managed to beat 43 other athletes with his top throw in the preliminary round.
Redshirt freshman Iain Trimble threw the javelin for the first time in two weeks, recording a mark of 61.03m (201-1 ft.) to finish in fifth place. Junior Joel Krause took 14th in the men’s shot put with his mark of 15.50m (50-10.25 ft.).
Freshman Heather Bergmann represented the only female Jayhawk competing on Saturday, as she earned runner-up honors in the javelin. Bergmann threw 45.52m (149-4 ft.), which was only five inches shy of the winning mark.
The throws squad, as well as the rest of the KU track and field team, will return to action Friday, April 30 with the Arkansas Twilight in Fayetteville, Ark. This meet marks the final outing for the Jayhawks before the 2010 Big 12 Outdoor Championships in Columbia, Mo., May 14-16. Between the men and women, Kansas currently has 25 athletes and three relay teams ranked in the top 10 on the Big 12 outdoor performance list.
