WPU News
Mon, May 31, 2010 - [Men's Track & Field]
Javaras Thomas claimed silver in the triple jump and was just four inches shy of winning the event
Javaras Thomas claimed silver in the triple jump and was just four inches shy of winning the event
Marion, Ind.--Penn track and field stars Katie Burnett (Jr., Mesa, Ariz., Arizona) and Javaras Thomas (Jr., Miami, Fla., Miami Beach HS) did not disappoint their navy blue and gold supporters as both brought home All-American hardware at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.

Burnett claimed her fourth career honor in the race walk event, while Thomas bettered his indoor season performance in the triple jump.

Burnett, who has three previous medals walking 3,000 meters, took fourth in the 5,000-meter race walk event Friday with a career-best time of 26:22.19, more than one minute faster than her qualifying time back in March.

Thomas landed an outdoor career-best mark of 49-10 to take the silver in Saturday's triple jump. He was just four inches shy of gold, which was won by Eugene Vollmer of Fresno Pacific (Calif.) at 50-2. The junior was fourth at this year's indoor nationals.

Burnett's points tied the Lady Statesmen for 43rd with five points. Azusa Pacific (Calif.) won the title with 61 points, holding off Oklahoma Baptist by one point (60).

The junior also competed in the javelin on Thursday, taking 17th with a toss of 126-0.

Rachel Butler (Jr., Anaheim, Calif., Calvary Chapel Downey HS) joined Burnett as the program's other female national qualifier and had a respectable showing in the discus, placing 23rd Saturday with a mark of 130-1.

Thomas' finish helped the Penn men to a tie for 35th with eight points. Wayland Baptist (Texas) easily corralled the men's trophy with 70 points, while Dickinson State (N.D.) was a distant second with 51 points.

The junior performed in the sport's other horizontal jump--the long jump--and was 19th overall with a mark of 22-9.75.

Royce Clay (Sr., Miami, Fla., Booker T. Washington HS) qualified in the triple event as well, but did not compete.

Penn was also represented quite well in the sprints with Gabriel Green (Fr., Anniston, Ala., Anniston HS) making the most noise.

The freshman qualified in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and as he had all year, found his best success in the 200, advancing past Thursday's preliminary round by smashing the school record with a time of 21.52 seconds. The previous record of 21.72 seconds was set by Green's teammate Kris Miller (Sr., Belleville, Mich., Belleville HS) in 2009.

Green's time was the 14th best in the field, but unfortunately he could not surpass it in Friday's semifinal round. He did post another strong time, however, taking 16th in 21.64 seconds.

Green was also 27th in Thursday's 100 with a time of 10.89 seconds, while Carlos Stepter (Jr., Highland Park, Mich., Highland Park HS) narrowly missed reaching the semifinals with a time of 10.67 seconds to finish in 19th place. He was only .02 seconds shy of the last qualifying spot.

Green and Stepter also paced the 4x100-meter relay squad to a season-best time of 42.00 seconds on Thursday. The team finished 19th overall, only .10 seconds behind the last qualifying group. Perry King (Fr., Valdosta, Ga., Valdosta HS) joined Green, Stepter, and Miller on the squad.