Friday's results
TURLOCK, Calif. – It was six short weeks ago that
Nick Jones woke up one morning and decided to make wholesale changes to his throwing style in the shot put ring.
Friday night at Al Brenda Track at Warrior Stadium, the decision paid off with a second-place finish and personal best mark in the shot put at the NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships for ACU's junior all-America thrower.
Jones – who before Friday had only thrown the shot at least 60 feet just twice in his career – posted two 60-foot throws in Friday night's final, including a second-place throw of 62-0.25 on his final throw of the competition. The mark surpasses the "B Standard" for qualifying for the U.S. National Championships, which will be next month in Eugene, Ore.
For most of his career, Jones had used the "glide" technique in the shot put ring. However, six weeks ago after he threw the shot 60-8.50 at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., Jones said he woke up the next morning and decided he wanted to try the "spin" technique in the ring.
So, not wanting to waste any time, he got dressed, went out to the courtyard area at the hotel where the Wildcats were staying, and tried out the new technique. Convinced it was the right move, he talked to ACU throws coach
Jerrod Cook about the move, and they decided together the time was right.
After two weeks of work, Jones went to the Mean Green Invitational in Denton and used the spin to throw 60-3.25. He has not thrown less than 58-8.75 since changing techniques.
Friday night, Jones' first throw of 57-11.50 got him into the final, allowing him to relax and get mentally prepared for the final.
"I knew the first throw would get me into final, and that just allowed me to relax," said Jones, who is the favorite on Saturday to win his third national championship in the discus. "I had a huge throw in the warmups before the final – at least 19 meters – and I felt really good. I was under control and I just stayed with it and let it fly."
Jones' first throw of the final was another personal best (60-9.50) that moved him into second behind eventual national champion Daniel Vanek of Grand Valley State (62-11.50). After a mediocre throw on his fifth attempt, Jones unleashed his final throw of 62-0.25 to lock up second place and eight points for the Wildcats, who are third with 23 points going into Saturday's final day.
Elsewhere on Saturday, it was a mixed bag for the Wildcats as
Desmond Jackson cruised into Saturday's 200-meter final, but neither Paris Robertson (200 meters) nor
Andrew McDowell (110 hurdles) qualified for Saturday's final.
McDowell – who had been battling a bad hamstring – blew it out late in the race, crashing over the eighth hurdle and failing to finish.
Jordan Geary – who ran the leadoff leg Thursday in the 4x100 relay preliminaries for McDowell – will run that leg again in Saturday's final.
The women's team broke through with its first points of the meet as sophomore Amanda Ouedraogo finished second in the triple jump with a jump of 41-8.75. Actually, the event was as close as it gets as Ouedraogo and eventual national champion Antionette Oglesby both jumped 41-8.75.
Both athletes had the same marks on each of their first two jumps, but Oglesby took the championship with a better third mark (41-8 to 40-8.75). Nonetheless, Ouegraogo got the ACU women on the board with eight points.
