April 29, 2002

DES MOINES, IOWA - Junior Christian Cantwell was named the recipient of the Maury White Award given to the outstanding performer of the men's division, the Drake University Media Relations office announced Monday. The award is named after the long-time decorated sportswriter for the Des Moines Register who died in 1999.

Cantwell won the men's invitational shot put with a throw of 69 feet 1 1/4 inches, beating a field which included Canadian Olympian Brad Snyder who was ranked No. 9 in the world last year; and nationally ranked U.S. throwers Kevin Toth (No. 7) and Reese Hoffa (No. 6), along with NCAA champion Carl Myerscough from Nebraska.

Cantwell, who is the U.S. collegiate leader this spring (70-1.5) was named the outstanding men's performer at the Kansas Relays April 20.

The voting was close in the men's division with decathlete Kip Janvrin, double-winner and Missouri junior Russ Bell, hammer thrower Libor Charfreitag of Southern Methodist and hurdler Aubrey Herring receiving votes.

Janvrin, the reigning U.S. national champion, continued his dominance in the Drake Relays decathlon by earning his 13th career victory Thursday with 7,775 points. It also marked the eighth straight year he won the event.

Bell was the only individual double winner in the men's division, winning the university-college shot put (62-5.25) and university-college discus (181-5), while he was fourth in the hammer throw and seventh in the invitational shot put.

Charfreitag, a four-time NCAA champion, needed only one throw to set a meet record in the university-college hammer thrower at 238-9. Herring won the men's invitational 110 hurdles in 13.76, beating Dudley Dorival who was seventh in the 2000 Olympics.