Throws highlight day 1 of 2006 Finish Line USA Junior Champs

INDIANAPOLIS - The sweltering heat did not dampen the competition Wednesday as qualifiers for the World Junior Championships highlighted the first day of the 2006 Finish Line USA Junior Track & Field Championships.

The Championships take place June 21-25 at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium on the campus of IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis. The top two finishers in each event will compete at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing, China, provided that they have met the qualifying standard.

Throws lead the day

Three-time USA Youth champion Adam Montague, a freshman at the University of North Carolina, won the junior men's javelin with a huge last throw of 67.88 meters/222 feet 8 inches. The runner-up was Christopher Hill with 62.58m/205-4 and Randy Fauntleroy of Northwestern State was third with 62.04m/203-6. Mantague and fifth place finisher Matthe Maloney (60.99m/200-1), a freshman at the University of Oregon, have thrown the qualifying mark for the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships.

The junior men's discus was won by 2006 Nike Outdoor National champion Bo Taylor with a toss of 58.55 meters/192 feet 1 inch. And for the second time in two week, 2006 Nike Outdoor Nationals runner-up Nick Robinson, a senior at El Toro High School (Calif.) finished second to Taylor with a throw of 57.43m/188-5. Taylor and Robinson will be roommates in the fall at UCLA. 2005 Washington State champion Korion Morris was third with 56.63m/185-9. Taylor and Robinson have both qualified for the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships.

2006 Nike Outdoor Nationals hammer throw champion Emily Bernhardt hammered the competition with her winning throw of 52.49 meters/172 feet 2 inches. Bernhardt is a senior at Lassiter High School (Marietta, Ga.) competes with the club Throw One Deep because the hammer is not an event contested in Georgia high school meets. University of Oregon freshman Megan Maloney placed second with a mark of 51.87m/170-2 and Georgia Tech freshman Kimery Hern was third with a heave of 51.67m/169-9.

Multi's take charge

Methacton High School (Penn.) sophomore Ryann Krais, who finished third at the 2006 Nike Outdoor Nationals in the 400 meter hurdles, is leading the way in the women's heptathlon with 3,263 points at the end of day one. 2004 Junior Olympic heptathlon and 100 meter hurdles champion Shana Woods is hot on her heels in second place with 3,226 points.

At the conclusion of the first five events, St. Mark's High School senior Shawn Schmidt tops the leader board in the junior men's decathlon with 3,866 points. Wake Forest freshman Brent LaRue is sitting in second with 3,809 points.

Going the distance

2004 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships runner-up Andrew Bumbalough, a freshman at Georgetown, won the junior men's 5,000 meters, crossing the line in 14 minutes 46.01 seconds. Bumbalough's teammate and fellow freshman Levi Miller was the runner-up in 14:47.35. Missouri freshman Garett Jeffries was third in 14:51.14. Bumbalough has qualified for the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships.

Georgetown freshman Natasha LaBeaud distanced herself from the field in the junior women's 5,000 meters winning in 17 minutes 12.63 seconds, 24.8 seconds ahead of runner-up Spring Valley High School senior Kate Niehaus' 17:37.43. Spring Westfield High School junior Nichole Jones was third in 18:13.85.

October 2005 Track & Field News high school runner of the month Diego Mercado won the crown in the junior men's 10,000 meters in 31 minutes 36.35 seconds. University of Florida freshman Jeremy Criscione took second in 31:40.67. UCLA freshman Jake Schmitt and Adams State freshman Brian Medigovich, who placed sixth and tenth respectively, have previously hit the qualifying standards and are eligible to compete at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships.

ATHLETE QUOTES

Adam Montague- junior men's javelin champion

I was reasonably happy, it's just a win. I went out there with my best. Itwasn't a PR (personal record), but my second best. My best was last year.

Bo Taylor - junior men's discus champion

It feels awesome. There was pretty good wind, it kept changing direction. Any wind is good wind.

Emily Bernhardt - junior women's hammer throw champion

I won the Nike Outdoor Nationals last weekend, so I was happy to come here and get my fourth national championship. I was pretty confident coming into the meet, but my first two throws weren't so good, so I just had to step it up and get into finals.

Andrew Bumbalough - junior men's 5,000 meter champion

It was hot, but everybody had to deal with it. It feels good (to be a national champion). This was my first year in college. I have had my ups and downs, I redshirted indoors and now I finally got the chance to compete outdoors.

Natasha LaBeaud - junior women's 5,000 meter champion

I have been planning for this, and when I didn't make it to nationals (NCAA), I needed to do something. Sometimes the heat overtakes me, I am surprised how hot it can get. I keep thinking 'How bad so you want this?' and just keep going.

Diego Mercado - junior men's 10,000 meter champion

The humdity played a part, it made it feel like we were running 66-68 seconds. It was my first 10,000 meters ever. It was phenomenal, I felt great. These are the meets that I look forward to every year. I had to play it cool and be patient. Now I know patience is a virtue.

For more information and complete results, visit www.usatf.org.