Kevin Burr, a Tennessee sophomore from Rancocas Valley, advanced to the NCAA Championships in Eugene with a top-12 finish in NCAA East Prelims Wednesday night in Jacksonville.
Burr threw 221-1 and snagged the 12th and final qualifying spot.
But he needed to come up huge on his final attempt to keep his season going.
After a long rain delay, Burr threw 207-4 and 200-5 on his 1st two throws and was sitting 21stgoing into his final throw, well out of qualifying range. But he managed that 221-1 on his last attempt and wound up qualifying by three inches. Reuben Booysen of South Alabama was 13th at 220-9 but with a superior 2nd-best throw to Burr at 214-5. So Burr had to throw 220-10 to advance, and he did … by three inches.
Burr placed 11th at NCAAs last year in only his 2nd year throwing the javelin with a throw of 231-8 after a lifetime-best 234-6 in East Prelims in Lexington, Ky.
He PR’d in April in Knoxville with a 240-1 and stretched that to 246-8 in another meet in Knoxville two weeks ago. That’s 6th-best ever by a South Jersey javelin thrower.
Burr’s 1st lifetime javelin competition was the Deptford Spartan Relays on April 8, 2023. He threw 132-1. By the Olympic Conference meet six weeks later he threw 187-7 and he hit his 1st200-foot throw in June of 2023 at the Meet of Champions. HE popped a 225-0 in his college debut in Orlando in March of 2024 and has been steadily improving ever since.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 