Wilson Makes History at USATF Junior Nationals
June 17, 2018 | Track & Field
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. โ UCLA freshman standout Alyssa Wilson made history at this weekend's USATF Junior Championships, winning both the hammer and shot put while finishing second in the discus to become the first junior woman everย to qualify for Team USA in three throwing events.
The successful weekend continued what has been a breakout campaign for Wilson, who was the lone athlete to qualify in three individual events at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships despite being a true freshman. She scored in two of those three events (hammer, shot put) to lead the Bruin women to a top-15 team finish.ย
"It was very impressive to see Alyssa's hard work pay off this weekend," said UCLA throws coach John Frazier. "From the beginning, it was her idea to continually do three events throughout our competitions for the year. I kept reminding her about being smart in the weight room and in organizing our training sessions in order to avoid burning out or overdoing it. Looking back, it has paid off."
Wilson opened her action for the weekend's meet, hosted at the University of Indiana, with a second-place showing in the discus on Friday. Her top mark came with a second-attempt throw of 53.84m (176-8), the fourth time this year that she has hit the 53-meter mark.
The Jackson, N.J. native notched one of her two individual championships for the meet on Saturday, as she continued her fine form in the hammer with a first place finish of 66.33m (217-7), not far behind the lifetime-best 66.99m mark she recorded at the NCAA Championships to record a fourth place finish. Her three fair throws in Saturday's event were the three longest individual marks recorded by the entire field.
She finished up her weekend with a 16.80m (55-1.5) toss to take home the women's shot put crown on Sunday. This will be Wilson's third time representing Team USA in the shot put, as she previously did so in both 2016 and 2017.
UCLA freshman thrower Jacob Wilson also had a strong showing at the USATF Juniors, recording a pair of top-five finishes. His best was a fourth-place finish in the men's shot put. He hit the 19.60m (64-3.75) mark on his first attempt, which was good for third place after the first round of throws. On Friday, he came in fifth in the men's hammer with a top mark of 60.61m (198-10). He was also the 10th place finisher in the men's discus at 53.31m (174-11).
Players Mentioned
