June 6, 2007

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara seniors Amy Haapanen and Eugene Bradley qualified for the finals in the women's and men's hammer throws respectively, in Wednesday's qualifying round at the 2007 NCAA Championships at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif.

Haapanen logged a 204' 2" to finish fifth in the qualifying of the women's hammer throw and Bradley had a heave of 210' 11", the eighth best mark.

Haapanen's throw was just one foot and three inches shy of the fourth-place qualifier, Sarah Stevens of Arizona State. The top qualifier, Jenny Dahlgren of the University of Georgia, had a throw of 220' 8". Haapanen, the Big West Conference Champion in the event, holds the UCSB record at 212' 0". She also competed in the discus prelims on Wednesday, but her toss was good enough for 19th-place and did not qualify her for the finals.

Bradley, the Gaucho men's record-holder in the hammer, will be competing against the top throwers in the nation, including the top qualifier Nick Owens of North Carolina who threw a 230' 4" on Wednesday.

Junior Bethany Nickless, who finished second in the West Regional in the 3,000 steeplechase, started in her qualifying heat on Wednesday night, but did not finish.

Also competing on the first day of competition at the NCAA Championships was senior javelin thrower John Delaney. Delaney's best throw of 185' 2", which came on his first attempt, placed him 26th in the qualifying round and he will not advance to the finals.