Chakouian hurled the discus 168-5 to win that event. "I didn't know what to expect today. I've been really tired (with all his travel)," he said. "The travel has been really tiring for me, but once the competition starts, I'm fine. This has been unreal."
Chakouian dominated the shot put with a heave of 63-9. Chakouian fouled on a 67-foot throw, but still beat the rest of the field by 7 feet, 9 inches. It was his second straight national title in the event. "I had three goals coming in - to win the discus and the shot, and to break Michael Carter's record," he said. "I came pretty close on the record. I was so exhausted, I just didn't have the energy to keep the (throw) in (the sector). I'm really excited with the two national championships."
Josh McCaughey of Princeton University won the men's hammer throw (189-9). This is McCaughey's second consecutive national junior title, but this summer he will compete on first national team at worlds. "I'm really excited to go. Last year I missed Chile (site of the World Junior Championships) for academic reasons," he said. "I've waited a whole year for this, and now I'm really excited.
"It was a pretty close field, until the end there were about three guys who were all pretty close. You can't ask for a better competition than that, where everybody is pushing each other."
UCLA's Jessica Cosby was tops in the women's hammer throw (182-10). Last year, Cosby was runner-up in the shot put and this is her first year of throwing the hammer. "Coming in, I had good practices and I was just trying to find that same groove," she said. "I was just trying to have fun with this. I never expected to win a national championship in something I just picked up this year."
A Texas high schooler won the women's long jump. Ychlindria leaped 20-9.75. Spears, who just finished her junior year of high school won four Texas state titles this spring. At the Texas meet, Spears set a national record in the triple jump (44-2.25), a state record in the long jump (21-3.25) and added wins in the 100 and 200 meters."Last year I missed the finals by just one spot. I'm really glad I won this year," she said. "This meet, I just want to get my legs together, focus first on enjoying myself, then I'm going to focus on my events.
