SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Former Southeastern Louisiana thrower Alex Young added an outdoor national championship to the indoor one he captured earlier this year at the 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships Thursday at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium.
Young, who completed his Southeastern career earlier this month, won the hammer throw with a career-best mark of 241 feet, 11 inches. The Nashville, Tennessee native had won the weight throw at the USATF Indoor National Championships in March with a personal-best mark of 78-09.75.
Young took the lead Thursday with a mark of 237-10 on his third attempt, then extended it on his sixth and final attempt. LSU's Johnnie Jackson was second at 235-02. Cornell's Rudy Winkler, who defeated Young at NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships two weeks ago, took fourth at 234-04.
"He took some big scalps today," Southeastern head coach Sean Brady said of Young. "That was a huge moment for him and a culmination of years of hard work and dedication. This year, it's so special because the plan all came together. It was a magic day for Alex and for (Lion assistant) coach (Amin) Nikfar and his teammates and all the people who supported him along the way."
Young, who qualified for the national team, now just needs to reach a qualifying mark for the IAAF World Championships in London, England, later this summer.
Young wrapped up his Southeastern career with a second-place finish in the hammer at the NCAA Championships with a school-record throw of 241-08. He captured the first NCAA Division I national championship in school history when he won the weight throw at the indoor championships in 2016 and is one of only three four-time All-Americans in the history of the Lion program.
Another Lion four-time All-American, rising senior Devin King, will compete in the pole vault at the USATF Championships on Saturday. King placed 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and is the school's record holder in the pole vault.
Live results can be accessed at
http://results.usatf.org/2017Outdoors/.