University of Missouri
NCAA Outdoor Championships - Finals
Pascal Earns All-America Honors in Javelin at NCAA Championships
6/7/2017 11:00:00 PM | Track & Field
Pascal’s fourth-place finish is the highest javelin finish in program history
EUGENE, Ore. – Mizzou Track & Field redshirt junior Alex Pascal (Cayman Islands) earned NCAA First Team All-America honors in the javelin on Wednesday, finishing fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Pascal's finish is the highest javelin finish in program history and the eighth javelin All-America honor overall.
"When I saw the mark on the board, it was like 'finally', because I have been working hard all year," said Pascal. "I've had a lot of ups and downs this year and it feels good to overcome it. Have to give a lot of credit to those who stuck behind me and believed in me all year."
The Tiger junior capped his season with his best performance of the year, recording a personal record mark of 75.38m (247-4) with his third throw, a toss which ranks third in program history. The fourth-place performance is one better than Darin File, who finished fifth at the NCAA Championships in 1997 and 1998. The trip to Eugene was Pascal's second, after qualifying for the javelin in 2015. Earlier this season, Pascal finished eighth at the SEC Championships with a throw of 66.12m (216-11) and fifth at the NCAA West Preliminary with a throw of 70.22m (230-4).
Senior Reinhard Van Zyl (Hoedspruit, South Africa) finished 19th in the javelin, ending his Mizzou career just short of his second All-America honor after finishing 13th at the NCAA meet in 2016. This season, Van Zyl finished runner-up at the SEC Championships (May 11) and Texas Relays (March 31), throwing 77.20m (253-3) and 73.13m (239-11), respectively. The Tiger senior's toss at the SEC meet was his second consecutive runner-up performance at the conference meet and ranks second in program history. He also recorded two events wins on the season at the Tom Botts Invitational (April 15) and Drake Relays (April 28).
Mizzou continues with competition at the NCAA Championships tomorrow with three entries on the track. The women's 4x100m relay team will begin the day at 4:32 p.m. PT, followed by senior Valerie Thames (Milwaukee, Wis.) in the 400m hurdles at 6:30 p.m. PT and redshirt sophomore Jamie Kempfer (Festus, Mo.) in the 10,000m run at 7:08 p.m. PT.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MIZ_TrackField).
Field Results
Javelin, Men – 4. Alex Pascal, 75.38m (247-4) PR, #3 // 19. Reinhard Van Zyl, 66.86m (219-4)
Players Mentioned
