ALLENDALE, Mich. – Only in his second year, Western Oregon University student-athlete Justin Larson was already appearing in his second national championships, and he only wanted this trip to better than his last. He accomplished that with a Top 10 finish in the men's javelin at the 2014 NCAA Div. II Outdoor Track and Field National Championships Saturday.
Larson placed ninth after advancing to the finals. The sophomore had his best throw of 203-10 (62.14 meters) on his third attempt in the preliminaries. It qualified him for the finals as the eighth of the nine throwers that advanced. He slipped from eighth to ninth in the finals. The top eight finishers are named All-American as point scorers. Western Washington's John Haskin edged Larson out by 13 inches.
As a freshman, Larson made a trip to the 2013 Outdoor National Championships, but faulted on all three throws. The Dayville, Ore. native, had only one foul on his six attempts Saturday, as his final throw sailed just left of inbounds.
Shane Brooks completed his sophomore season with a 13th place finish. He improved with each throw in the second flight, eventually hitting 198-1 (60.39m) on his third and final attempt. Brooks finished 11th at last year's national championships with a throw of 198-11.
Entering this year's championships, Larson was seeded 16th, while Brooks' top mark was seeded 12th. Brooks threw 211-7 (64.49m) at the OSU Invitational and Larson had a top mark of 206-10 (63.04m) at the John Knight Twilight. They were the third and fifth top marks in the conference in 2013, and second and third on the WOU all-time list.
