With eight athletes (five men, three women) competing in the weight throw at the NCAA Division II Championships this weekend, Ashland is a name to look out for. The small school in Ohio has been a juggernaut in the weight throw for years, but this year they have been especially dominant. Ryan Loughney leads the nation by more than a meter on the men's side with his best of 22.99 meters. He is the only thrwoer that has broken 22 meters, and he has done so three out of four meets this year. To top it all off, his only loss of the season was to US Champion AG Kruger. Behind him battling for the silver medal will be Richard Quick. Quick has not lost to another D2 thrower (other than Loughney) this season and bosts a strong best of 21.94 meters. He will be chased by three more throwers over 21 meters, which reflects on the exceptional level of competition in the D2 ranks this year.
Grand Valley State has the top two woman qualifiers led by Liz Murphy. Murphy's personal best from two weeks ago clearly outdistances the field, but she has not thrown within one meter of that mark the rest of the season. She traded wins with teammate Sam Lockhart throughout the season, and Ashland's Kelly Ash has also thrown over 20 meters and is not far behind the pair.
NCAA Division II
2012 Indoor Track & Field Championships
Mankato, MN - 3/9/2012 to 3/10/2012
Men Weight Throw
===============================================================================
Name Year School Seed Mark
===============================================================================
1 59 Ryan Loughney JR Ashland 22.99m
2 61 Richard Quick SR Ashland 21.94m
3 193 Matt Royer SR Indianapolis 21.53m
4 134 Derrick Vicars SR Findlay 21.20m
5 387 Matt Royer SR Wayne State (Neb.) 21.01m
6 60 Cory Meuleman SO Ashland 20.59m
7 57 Garrett Grey FR Ashland 20.54m
8 53 Craig Call SR Ashland 19.97m
9 195 Ryan Smith SO Indianapolis 19.50m
10 408 Ryan Walstrom JR Western State 18.92m
10 259 Brandon Karlin JR Nebraska-Kearney 18.53m
12 233 Mark Manno JR Lock Haven 18.47m
Women Weight Throw
===============================================================================
Name Year School Seed Mark
===============================================================================
1 167 Liz Murphy JR Grand Valley State 21.19m
2 165 Sam Lockhart JR Grand Valley State 20.61m
3 46 Kelly Ash SR Ashland 20.25m
4 416 Jenny Schuler SR Winona State 19.62m
5 49 Jessica Bridenthal FR Ashland 19.60m
6 127 Jessica Rowland JR Findlay 19.56m
7 277 Kristin Cameron SR Northwood 19.46m
8 51 Kim Habegger FR Ashland 19.08m
9 35 Bidemi Balogun SR American Int'l 18.65m
10 170 Jamie Smith JR Grand Valley State 18.64m
11 351 Ashley Dewitt SO Tiffin 18.55m
12 180 Kathy Dirksen JR Hillsdale 18.41m
13 414 Michelle Potter SR Winona State 18.34m
14 385 Carlz Fehringer SO Wayne State (Neb.) 18.32m
CollegeHammer.com is a published by the non-profit Evergreen Athletic Fund and edited by Martin Bingisser. Please consider donating to help support the site.
