Cooper Takes Sixth at World Junior Championships

EUGENE, Ore. – Kansas track & field sophomore-to-be Mitchell Cooper used a new career best to notch a sixth-place finish in the discus Saturday evening at the World Junior Championships inside Hayward Field. Cooper’s finish marked the best by a Jayhawk at the World Junior meet since 1998.
 
Cooper, who competed for his native Australia, earned his way to Saturday’s final by way of an eighth-place finish in the qualifying rounds Friday, a performance which saw him tally a personal best. Saturday, the Queensland, Australia native picked up right where he left off the day prior by notching another career best on his first attempt of the day. Cooper posted a mark of 61.29 meters (201’1″) to immediately move himself up the leaderboard to fifth overall.
 
After a second-attempt foul, Cooper again surpassed the 60-meter mark with a toss of 60.54 meters (198’7″) on his third throw. He posted two more fouls on his next two attempts but ended his day on a high note. On his final trip into the Hayward Field throws ring, Cooper uncorked his third personal best in two days after he hit a mark of 61.77 meters (202’8″). The mark cemented his place in sixth on the leaderboard, which marked the best finish by a Jayhawk at the World Junior Championships since Scott Russell took fifth in the javelin in 1998 in France. Cooper’s final attempt mark was also the second-farthest discus mark ever hit by a Jayhawk and was just 14 inches behind Doug Knop’s school record throw of 62.12 meters (2013’10”) hit over 44 years ago.
 
Cooper’s finish also made history for his native country as he became just the fourth Australian to notch a finish inside the top-six at the World Junior Championships.
 
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.