Josh Awotunde placed third in the shot put at the USATF Championships Saturday at the Ocean Breeze facility on Staten Island, N.Y., with a season-best throw of 67-8 1/4.
Awotunde, a Delsea graduate and five-time All-America at South Carolina, improved on the 66-4 1/2 he threw at the Millrose Games at the Armory earlier this month in his pro debut.
Awotunde’s mark is No. 18 in the world this year. He has PRs of 69-11 3/4 indoors and 68-1 3/4 outdoors, both from last year’s SEC Championships.
Awotunde opened with a 64-10 3/4 and a 64-3 1/4 before bombing his PR on his third attempt of the trials. He finished with a 63-11 3/4, a 65-11 and a 65-8 3/4, giving him six legal throws averaging 65-5 1/4.
So his AVERAGE on six throws was only a foot below his PR entering the competition.
Awotunde finished behind only Ryan Crouser [72-10 3/4] and Joe Kovacs [70-2 1/2].
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 