McClung finishes 20th at national meet (06/11/05)

Kerri McClung was the best in Indiana in high school, so it should come as no surprise that she can compete with the country’s elite.

McClung, a state champion while at Jay County High School, competed at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championship Thursday. She finished 20th in the shot put at 49 feet, 53/4 inches in the competition in Sacramento, Calif.

The first throw of the preliminary round for the senior went 14.61 meters (48 feet), and she fouled on her second attempt. But, she recorded her best distance on her final throw to finish 20th.

The top 12 competitors advanced to today’s finals.

McClung’s appearance at the national meet capped an outstanding career in which she repeatedly broke the Falcons record in the shot put.

Her best throw of 52 feet, 81/4 inches came at this season’s Wright/Campbell Open.

She was also the Mid-American Conference champion this season, and finished seventh at the NCAA regional meet at Indiana University.

Candace Northam

A former Jay County tennis player now at St. Joseph’s College, she was named to the All-Great Lakes Valley Conference Academic team this week.

Northam, a 2002 graduate who played on the 2001 sectional championship team, earned the honor in women’s tennis for the third straight season.[[In-content Ad]]