May 19, 2008

Araya, Hacker to Compete at National Track & Field Championships

Juniors Faven Araya and Taylor Hacker will represent Pacific Lutheran at the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships scheduled for May 22-24 in Oshkosh, Wis.

Both Araya and Hacker will compete in their second straight national championship meet. Araya enters the meet with the third-fastest qualifying time out of 18 competitors in the 400 hurdles, a personal best 1:02.14 that came on May 10. That time also ranks the Portland native fifth on PLU’s all-time list in the event.

Hacker qualified for the hammer throw on April 12 with a mark of 171-5, which ranks her sixth among the 18 competitors in the field. Hacker, from Gig Harbor, is second on PLU’s all-time hammer throw list.

Both Araya and Hacker failed to advance to the finals in their events in 2007, and that becomes the primary focus for both athletes entering this year’s championship meet.

Unfortunately for sophomore javelin thrower Karin Hatch, she missed the cut by one athlete in receiving an invitation to compete in her second consecutive national meet. Hatch, from Portland, met the provisional qualifying mark with a throw of 128-9 at the Willamette Last Chance meet held Thursday, May 15. That throw ranked her 18th in the country, but the selection committee decided on 17 athletes in the event, with the cutoff point coming at 129-2.

- PLU -