Faldermeyer Easily Wins USATF Junior National Hammer Crown
June 24, 2011
Alec Faldermeyer continued his stellar freshman season on Friday as he demolished the competition en route to the 2011 USATF Junior National hammer crown. Faldermeyer, who earned All-American honors at both the NCAA indoor (35-lb weight) and outdoor (hammer) during his first year at UCLA, captured his first national title in impressive fashion on Friday in Eugene, OR.
He opened up the competition with a throw of 219-9 to take first-place and would never relinquish his lead throughout all six rounds. On his second attempt, Faldy posted a huge mark of 237-6, essentially putting him out of reach from his competitors. He continued a solid series with marks of 234-9, 236-1 and 231-10 before unleashing a lifetime-best of 241-2 on his final throw. Last year, Faldy finished third with a throw of 219-5 and just missed a spot at the World Junior Championships.
Faldermeyer won the junior crown by over 20 feet and earned himself a spot on Team USA for the PanAm Junior Games, which are held in Miramar, FL July 20-22. He joins teammate Derek Eager who qualified for the team after winning the javelin on Thursday.
Incoming freshman Nicholas Scarvelis finished fourth in the junior shot put competition, posting a mark of 60-7.75.
In the senior men's 110m hurdles prelims, alum Kevin Craddock finished third in heat two to automatically advance to the semifinal rounds, which will be held on Saturday along with the final. His time of 13.51 was 14th overall.
Cory Primm, who was competing in the semifinal round of the 800m, finished seventh in heat two and 15th overall with a time of 1:49.77. He does not advance to the final.