Wyoming track and field athlete junior Mason Finley will represent UW at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Fayettevile, Ark. this weekend. He will be competing in the shot put event, which will take place at the University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Track on Friday.
According to his Mountain West athletic profile, Finley owns the nation’s second-best shot put distance this season. He threw a school-record with a total distance of 65’-9.75” at the Air Force Invitational Jan. 25. To top off his already successful season, Finley placed first in the shot put event and second in the weight throw at the MW Indoor Championships held Feb. 22-23. He then received the honor of the league’s Most Outstanding Male Performer. Monday, Finley was also named the 2013 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mountain Region Field Athlete of the Year.
Finley will be going against the three-time defending champion Jordan Clarke of Arizona State University. As they have had meetings in the past, he may have a chance overcome the challenge to bring the prestigious title back to Wyoming.
At the MW Indoor Championships in Boise, Idaho, Finley was not the only athlete to have a strong showing in their event. Senior Katy Hall also led Wyoming’s team to help earn eighth-place in the 60-meter hurdles event. This was a personal best for Hall, who was marked at 8.51 seconds beating her previous best of 8.52. However, her time was not fast enough to qualify her to join Finley in the NCAA Championships. Junior Jenna Mann came in fifth place in the event with an 8.59 time to help the team by adding four more points.
The men’s team ended up finishing the MW championships with a total of 72 points putting them in fifth place, while the Cowgirls ended having 53 total points, enough to place them eighth. New Mexico won the men’s championship with 185 points and San Diego State took the women’s first place title with 123 total points.
