Millar and Kovacs Place Third at Canadian Nationals
7/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | TRACK AND FIELD
TORONTO Alanna Kovacs and Brad Millar of the DePaul track and field team each earned a bronze medal at the Canadian National Track and Field Championships held last weekend at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Stadium. In addition, Kovacs logged a sixth placed javelin finish.
Kovacs, a Minesing, Ontario native, competed with the South Simcoe Dufferin Track and Field Club, and was the youngest participant in the discus throw competition. After launching a personal-record throw of 46.27m, she claimed her first senior-level medal. Her previous PR was set in a Blue Demon uniform at the Sun Angel Track Classic with a 15th place throw of 44.49. Marie LeJour was the top finisher after hitting a distance of 48.61.
In the javelin competition, Kovacs placed sixth behind a throw of 45.94m. As a freshman at DePaul, she qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championship after placing fourth in the BIG EAST Conference meet with a throw of 43.98. At the regional championships she launched her best throw of the season, with a seventh place distance of 46.15m.
Millar, who recently competed in his first NCAA National Championships, launched a hammer throw of 60.04m in the prelims to enter the finals in fourth place. He moved into medal contention after improving his distance to 61.04m. This past season, he was ranked as high as 14th on the national descending order list with his season-best throw of 64.79m. He became just the fifth Blue Demon to advance to the NCAA National Championships after placing fourth at the Mideast Regional with a throw of 63.16m.
Kovacs and Millar will continue competition through out the summer. Kovacs is set to throw at the Junior Nationals in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on July 17-19, where she attempts to earn a spot on Canada’s Junior National Team that competes at the PanAm Junior Championships in Trinidad and Tobago in August. Both also hope to earn a berth at the Canada Summer Games held later in August as they compete at the trials held this weekend in Windsor.