Pair of NDSU Javelin Throwers Punch Tickets to Eugene

Saturday, May 30

Austin, Texas

12 p.m.

North Dakota State

NCAA West Preliminary Rounds - Day Three

Photo by: Richard Svaleson

Pair of NDSU Javelin Throwers Punch Tickets to Eugene

5/30/2015 5:43:00 PM | Men's Track and Field

NCAA Preliminary Rounds
Schedule of Events | Live Results
Meet Information | NDSU Track & Field on Twitter

AUSTIN, Texas – The North Dakota State men's track & field team sent two javelin throwers on to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Saturday afternoon, but the paths they took to get there couldn't have been much different.

Austin Schmidt, a true freshman from Stanley, N.D., and Matti Mortimore, a sophomore from Ipswich, Suffolk, England, both punched their tickets to the national meet with top-12 finishes on Saturday at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds.

Schmidt registered a lifetime-best mark by over six feet, throwing 226-7 (69.07m) to finish in eighth place. Mortimore threw 220-10 (67.31m) – more than 16 feet under his personal-best – to sneak by with the 12th and final qualifying spot to the national meet in Eugene, Ore.

Because Schmidt entered the meet ranked 25th of the 48 competitors, he threw in the second of three flights and had to wait for over an hour after competing to see if his mark would stay in the top 12 to earn a bid. Mortimore entered the meet ranked eighth in the West Region with his school-record qualifying mark and threw in the final flight with the heavy favorites.

The North Dakota Class B state champion in the javelin last year for Stanley/Powers Lake HS, Schmidt elected to stay in his home state to compete collegiately for the Bison. Mortimore, who won English national javelin titles in the under-15, under-17 and under-20 age divisions, transferred to NDSU from the University of New Orleans as a prized recruit last summer to compete for Bison throws coach Justin St. Clair.

After traveling such different paths to North Dakota State and experiencing contrasting levels of performance on Saturday, the end result was the same – two tickets to Oregon.

Schmidt and Mortimore will become the second and third Bison men to represent NDSU at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, joining Casey Orgon who took part in the hammer throw in 2013.

Bison junior Tyler Parker finished 19th on Saturday with a top throw of 214-9 (65.45m) in his third NCAA Prelims appearance. Junior Quinn Baumann placed 34th with a mark of 202-9 (61.79m) – his second-best throw of the season.

NDSU was the only school in the nation with four entries in the javelin at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds. The Bison are now one of four teams sending two men to Oregon in the event.

The NCAA Outdoor Championships will be held at Oregon's historic Hayward Field on June 10-13, with men's javelin competition scheduled for the opening day.