EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Lewis-Clark State College freshman Ali Super did indeed have a super time at the NAIA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday when she placed second in the javelin.
Super, who is from Portland, Ore., threw a personal-best and school-record 156-feet even to finish behind favorite Liz Gleadle of British Columbia, who had a winning throw of 178-02. Super was the only other competitor to throw over 150 feet.
“She did really, really well,” LCSC coach Mike Collins. “She was the first thrower in the second of three flights and she started things off with a throw that put her third overall. She just got better with each throw. Her best throw was her third throw of the prelims. That throw put her solidly in second.”
Super becomes only the second athlete in program history to finish second at the NAIA championship. Tausha Kuzmic won the marathon title at the 2005 meet, while Lauren Wright finished second in the 2003 Marathon.
Super becomes the 12th All-American produced by the Warrior track and cross country team.
“I think she’s really happy about it and I’m obviously very happy,” Collins said. “She has surgery on her right shoulder a year ago and to come back and throw this far after surgery is fantastic. She’ll be challenging for the title in the years to come.”
The Warriors also had two runners compete in the preliminaries of the 3,000-meter steeplechase and junior Lindsay Szybura came up just short of qualifying for Saturday’s finals.
The top five finishers in the two heats plus the next four fastest times qualified for the finals and Szybura came up jus two spots short, finishing the race in 11:27.74, four seconds behind the final qualifier. Last year, Szybura finished one spot out of qualifying for the finals.
“She’s come really close twice now,” Collins said. “Lindsay came real close to a personal record for herself. She ran a great race, but couldn’t hold on when she needed to hold on.”
Collins said Szybura was a victim of running the second heat, which he says is usually the faster heat. He said the runners in the second heat know the time they have to beat to qualify and tend to get out quicker. He said after a lap-and-a-half, the second heat was running about nine seconds faster than the third heat.
“And they ended up paying the price,” Collins said. “The runners couldn’t keep that pace in the heat and humidity here and it took its toll on Kyli (Astle) and Lindsay about two-thirds of the way into the race.”
Astle, a junior, finished the race in 12:32.88. Collins said Astle suffered a heal bruise two weeks ago and hasn’t been able to run, so her training has consisted of working out in a pool and riding a stationary bike. He said the injury, the heat, and the fast start all paid a price on Astle.
LCSC has one other competitor at the meet in Kirsten Smith, who will compete in the discus on Friday.
