Throwers Ignite Outdoor Season With Stellar Performances
3/24/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
The Golden Flashes win every throwing event at Catamount Classic
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The throwers of the Kent State outdoor track and field team got the 2012 season off on the right foot Saturday, as the Golden Flashes captured all eight individual titles in the throwing events at the 2012 Beynon Sports Surface Catamount Classic, hosted by Western Carolina University.
Sophomore Joh'vonnie Mosley (Youngstown, Ohio) was the lone two-event winner for Kent State, winning the shot put and the discus.
Junior Sara Oczypok (Pittsburgh, Pa.) got the day going with her first-place finish in the javelin, throwing for 143-05. Sophomore C.J. Carlisle (Garrettsville, Ohio) was third overall with a throw of 127-00.
Freshman Jackie Leppelmeier (pictured, McComb, Ohio) claimed the top spot in the hammer throw, leading the field with a throw of 158-11. Graduate Lauren Noe (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) took second with a distance of 157-07.
Mosley got the first of her double in the discus with an effort of 158-09, while Noe placed second again with a mark of 144-09.
Mosley then wasted little time in setting a new career mark in the shot put, as her first throw went for 51-09.00, good for fifth-best in team history and improving her career-best from last spring by two feet.
Mosley led a 1-2-3 punch by the Golden Flashes in the shot; Leppelmeier and Noe took second and third, respectively, to keep Kent State's perfect streak intact.
The men's hammer throw went to sophomore Bo Crabtree (Lucasville, Ohio), who won by a foot with a throw of 186-05. Freshman Matthias Tayala (McDonald, Ohio) took fifth place (171-05), while sophomore Marcus Vicars (Oregon, Ohio) was ninth overall (145-10).
In the javelin, junior Brian Florek (Matawan, N.J.) posted an impressive 213-11 to edge freshman teammate Robert Robbins (LeRaysville, Ohio) in his collegiate debut. Of note, Robbins' mark of 204-05 on his first throw as a collegian ranks ninth-best in Kent State records.
Senior Aaron Crabtree (Lucasville, Ohio) was the winner in the shot put with his mark of 54-03.25. Crabtree edged Vicars, who was second overall with a distance of 51-01.50.
Capping off his first collegiate meet on a high note, Tayala won the discus throw with a final effort of 159-05. Aaron Crabtree placed fourth (154-07), Vicars eighth (145-10) and sophomore Samuel Groves (Canton, Ohio) rounded out Kent State's entries. Groves took ninth with a 144-08.
