EUGENE, Ore. – Magdalyn Ewen stood atop the podium at the NCAA Championships for the third time in her Sun Devil career Thursday as she ran away with the shot put title in Eugene, Oregon, with a historic throw of 19.17m/62-10.75 feet.
The collegiate record-holder in the event didn't waste any time as she took the lead on the field with her first throw of 18.74m/61-5.75 feet and didn't look back.
"This one definitely means a lot," Ewen said. " I got it done early, which is something I don't do often, and with Sam being by my side and getting on the podium the way she did, the whole competition was just something special."
Ewen's dominant victory produced the second-best throw at an NCAA Outdoor Championship in meet history, and earned the 2017 Bowerman Award finalist her third NCAA title in two years.
"It feels great to win," Ewen said. " The hammer didn't go the way I wanted it to at regionals, so I wasn't able to defend my title today, but coming out in shot, it gave me that extra fire to go out and get it done."
The Sun Devils got two more points in the shot put from redshirt-freshman Samantha Noennig who was making her NCAA Championship debut.
Noennig came into the meet as one of the lower-seeded women in the competition after an 11th-place finish at the West Preliminary Rounds, but the Wisconsin-native proved she belonged with the elites straight away as her first throw put her in place to qualify for the final and her second throw of 17.12m/56-2 cemented her spot there and got her seventh-place overall.
The first-team All-America honor was a first for Noennig who barely missed out on advancing to the NCAA Indoor Championships back in March and said she made it her mission to make it to Eugene.
"I'm so happy she was able to make it, not just to the meet, but to the podium as well," Ewen said. "I think that shows a lot about her character and her potential as an athlete. I'm really happy that I could be here for her first nationals to kind of hold her hand through it because I remember my first time and I was just lost and it didn't go well. I hope I helped a little bit in her success today."
Kaylee Antill finished 24th in her NCAA Championship debut in the women's hammer throw. Antill had a solid sophomore season for the Sun Devils that included scoring in two events at the Pac-12 Championships and setting a personal best in the hammer of 63.89m/209-7 two weeks ago at the West Preliminary Rounds.
Despite clocking a 2:04.56 in the 800-meter semifinal, senior Alethia Marrero came up just short of grabbing a place in Saturday's 800-meter final. She finished fourth in her heat that produced four times faster than the final two qualifying times, but Marrero's first and only Sun Devil season came to a close Thursday in Eugene.
Marrero's time in Tempe produced memorable moments for the Sun Devils as she clocked the second-fastest time in the half-mile in school history with a 2:03.08, and took second at her first and only Pac-12 Championships in the same event.
The Women's Championship will take a pause Friday as the men crown a team champion at Hayward Field, but Ewen will return to competition Saturday for the discus throw trials and final.
"I'm going to go into it calm and confident and just make sure I'm in a positive mindset out there," Ewen said. "I just have to have fun because it's going to be a really tough competition. All of us are basically separated by centimeters and it's supposed to rain, so that could make things more interesting. With discus you just never know."
NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship | June 7, 2018 | Eugene, Oregon
800 Meters
10. Alethia Marrero – 2:04.56
Shot Put
1. Maggie Ewen – 19.17m/62-10.75
7. Samantha Noennig – 17.12m/56-2
Hammer Throw
24. Kaylee Antill – 63.89m/209-7
The collegiate record-holder in the event didn't waste any time as she took the lead on the field with her first throw of 18.74m/61-5.75 feet and didn't look back.
"This one definitely means a lot," Ewen said. " I got it done early, which is something I don't do often, and with Sam being by my side and getting on the podium the way she did, the whole competition was just something special."
Ewen's dominant victory produced the second-best throw at an NCAA Outdoor Championship in meet history, and earned the 2017 Bowerman Award finalist her third NCAA title in two years.
"It feels great to win," Ewen said. " The hammer didn't go the way I wanted it to at regionals, so I wasn't able to defend my title today, but coming out in shot, it gave me that extra fire to go out and get it done."
The Sun Devils got two more points in the shot put from redshirt-freshman Samantha Noennig who was making her NCAA Championship debut.
Noennig came into the meet as one of the lower-seeded women in the competition after an 11th-place finish at the West Preliminary Rounds, but the Wisconsin-native proved she belonged with the elites straight away as her first throw put her in place to qualify for the final and her second throw of 17.12m/56-2 cemented her spot there and got her seventh-place overall.
The first-team All-America honor was a first for Noennig who barely missed out on advancing to the NCAA Indoor Championships back in March and said she made it her mission to make it to Eugene.
"I'm so happy she was able to make it, not just to the meet, but to the podium as well," Ewen said. "I think that shows a lot about her character and her potential as an athlete. I'm really happy that I could be here for her first nationals to kind of hold her hand through it because I remember my first time and I was just lost and it didn't go well. I hope I helped a little bit in her success today."
Kaylee Antill finished 24th in her NCAA Championship debut in the women's hammer throw. Antill had a solid sophomore season for the Sun Devils that included scoring in two events at the Pac-12 Championships and setting a personal best in the hammer of 63.89m/209-7 two weeks ago at the West Preliminary Rounds.
Despite clocking a 2:04.56 in the 800-meter semifinal, senior Alethia Marrero came up just short of grabbing a place in Saturday's 800-meter final. She finished fourth in her heat that produced four times faster than the final two qualifying times, but Marrero's first and only Sun Devil season came to a close Thursday in Eugene.
Marrero's time in Tempe produced memorable moments for the Sun Devils as she clocked the second-fastest time in the half-mile in school history with a 2:03.08, and took second at her first and only Pac-12 Championships in the same event.
The Women's Championship will take a pause Friday as the men crown a team champion at Hayward Field, but Ewen will return to competition Saturday for the discus throw trials and final.
"I'm going to go into it calm and confident and just make sure I'm in a positive mindset out there," Ewen said. "I just have to have fun because it's going to be a really tough competition. All of us are basically separated by centimeters and it's supposed to rain, so that could make things more interesting. With discus you just never know."
NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship | June 7, 2018 | Eugene, Oregon
800 Meters
10. Alethia Marrero – 2:04.56
Shot Put
1. Maggie Ewen – 19.17m/62-10.75
7. Samantha Noennig – 17.12m/56-2
Hammer Throw
24. Kaylee Antill – 63.89m/209-7