Kelly Yanucil, a Bordentown graduate now competing for Mount St. Mary’s, advanced to the field of 12 in the NCAA Championships with a throw of 159-6 at the NCAA East Preliminary meet in Jacksonville this weekend.
The top 12 throwers at the two regional sites advanced to the field of 24 at the NCAA Championships, scheduled for June 8-11 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The javelin final is June 9.
Yanucil’s throw was ninth-best of the 48 throwers entered. She opened with 152-6 and closed with a 150-5.
Yanucil has a season-best of 165-7 from the Spring Invitational last month at George Mason University in Fairfax. Her PR of 165-9 comes from the Northeast Conference Championships last year at St. Mary’s own track in Emmitsburg, Md.
At Bordentown, Yanucil had a best of 141-5 from the state Group 1 championships at Egg Harbor.
Yanucil is ranked 29th among all U.S. women, according to Track and Field News.
Yanucil, who returned home to win the Penn Relays championship last month, is already the Mount St. Mary’s record holder. The previous record in the javelin was 163-5 by Kelly Juhring, who is a graduate of Kingsway High School. So the top two spots on Mount St. Mary’s all-time women’s javelin list are South Jersey natives.
Yanucil’s recent exploits haven’t stopped her from being a Bordentown track supporter. She was at Rancocas Valley last weekend for the County Open, cheering on the Bordentown athletes.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 