Purvis Breaks School 200 Record at USA Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa ? Amber Purvis broke her own school record in the women’s 200 meters, while Alex Wolff set a personal best in the men’s javelin Sunday at the USA Track & Field Championships.
Purvis, running in lane seven, accelerated off the turn and passed a couple of competitors on the straightway to finish fourth behind a trio of professionals. The sophomore from Hercules, Calif., crossed the line in 22.74 with a legal plus-0.6 tailwind.
That broke her own school record of 23.09 set at the 2009 Pan American Junior Games, as well as her windy best time of 23.00 set at April’s Pepsi Team Invitational.
Consuella Moore, running unattached, won in 22.40, with Reebok’s Shalonda Solomon second in 22.47 and Saucony’s Porscha Lucas third in 22.57
Earlier Sunday, Purvis advanced to the finals by finishing second in her semifinal heat in 23.22.
Wolff set a personal best in the men’s javelin with a throw of 242-6 (73.93 meters) at Drake Stadium. The throw was good for a fifth-place finish for the junior from Newberg, Ore., who was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA due to medical hardship in April.
Wolff’s best throw, which is No. 4 all-time at Oregon, came on his first attempt, but he also had three other throws that went at least 230 feet.
Also in the men’s javelin, senior Cyrus Hostetler took ninth with a mark of 230-5.
In the men’s 1,500 meter final, Matthew Centrowitz finished fifth in 3:51.81. The sophomore from Arnold, Md., was the top collegiate finisher.
In the women’s pole vault, junior Melissa Gergel tied for 11th with a clearance at 13-7.25.
Former Duck Becky Holliday was the national runner-up after clearing the bar at 15-1.
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