BATON ROUGE, La. - University of Texas senior Nathan Junius (New Orleans, La.) secured his third-consecutive All-America certificate in the men's javelin with national runner-up finish at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Junius posted a lifetime best throw of 244-9 in an outstanding competition late Thursday evening. UT also advanced three individuals to the semifinal round and the women's 4x400-meter relay to the finals on the second day of competition in front of 1,887 fans at LSU's Bernie Moore Stadium.
Junius, who finished third last year and 10th in 2000 while attending Tulane, launched a 236-1 mark on his first throw to put him in fifth place entering the final three rounds. After fouling on his fourth attempt, Junius uncorked a 243-0 to move into fourth place entering the final round. On his sixth and final throw, Junius launched his 244-9 to vault into second place. He held on for the silver after Nebraska's Artur Wszelaki failed to improve from 243-4.
"It was a great feeling being able to compete here in my home state in front of my family," Junius said. "The crowd really helped me out tonight and it was a great competition. Basically, I was on autopilot on the last throw. I just wanted to make sure I kept the javelin straight and low on my final throw. That's what I tried to do and that's what I did. It was a blur to me, but a great feeling at the same time."
Junius moves into fourth place on UT's historic all-time javelin chart. His throw is also the best by a Longhorn since three-time NCAA Champion Patrik Boden set the school record of 292-4 in 1990, and he also is the first to score in the event since Boden won and John Poole finished sixth in 1991. Junius also was the top American in the field as Kansas' Scott Russell, a native of Canada, won with a 262-0 effort. The strength of the Big 12 was on display as well with Russell winning and Wszelaki and Missouri's Gary File finishing fourth (243-4) and ninth (228-3), respectively.
"Nathan has been throwing consistently all season," seventh-year men's head coach Bubba Thornton said. "For him to put all the distractions aside and finish second in the nation is a testament to the type of athlete and competitor he is. It was a perfect example of 'Texas Fight' because he put it all together in the final two throws when the pressure was on."
With the eight points scored by Junius in the javelin, Texas stands in fifth place after day two in the team standings. Georgia leads with 15, followed by LSU (11), Eastern Michigan (10) and Kansas (10).
In preliminary action on the track, the women's 4x00m relay team of sophomore Alyssa Aiken (Chantilly, Va.), junior Keasha Downer (Kingston, Jamaica), sophomore Raasin McIntosh (Houston, Texas) and junior Moushaumi Robinson (Columbus, Ohio) advanced to finals with a season-best 3:28.73, good for second fastest in the heats. The Longhorns received a 51.3 third leg from McIntosh and a 51.5 anchor from Robinson in a neck-and-neck battle with UCLA in an exciting finish down the stretch. The Bruins, following a superb anchor by Monique Henderson, won the heat with the fastest qualifier (3:28.58).
With that time, the quartet moves into fifth on UT's all-time chart. The same foursome earned All-America honors during the indoor season with a national runner-up finish in 3:32.12, the third-best indoor time in school history. Saturday's final is scheduled for 9:35 p.m.
Junior All-American Jermaine Cooper (Giddings, Texas) opened the evening with a solid performance in the men's 110-meter hurdles. The indoor and outdoor conference champion posted a 13.72 to finish third in his preliminary heat. Cooper advances to Friday's semifinal round slated for 8:20 p.m. Alabama's Ron Bramlett posted the top qualifying time, a 13.54.
Sophomore Nichole Denby (Moreno Valley, Calif.) advanced in the women's 100m hurdles, finishing second in her heat in 13.30. That time was the sixth-fastest of the day behind Indiana's Danielle Carruthers (13.05). Denby will line up in the semifinals on Friday at 8:35 p.m.
In the women's 100m, junior Aleah Williams (Montclair, N.J.) also advanced to the semifinals with an 11.64 clocking, good for fifth in her heat and 15th overall.
In other preliminary action on the track, Downer finished fourth in her 400m heat in 53.34, but did not advance to the nine-person final. In the 1,500m, All-American Erin Sims (Pascagoula, Miss.), the seventh-place finisher last year, posted a 4:26.85 to finish sixth in her heat and 16th overall.
The 2002 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships continue Friday-Saturday. Featured competitors for Texas include senior Brian Hunter in the men's pole vault (6:30 p.m.), McIntosh in the women's 400m hurdles (7:30 p.m.), Denby in the women's 100m hurdles (8:35 p.m.) and Cooper in the men's 110m hurdles (8:20 p.m.).