June 8, 2007

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara senior Amy Haapanen finished eighth in the hammer throw at the NCAA Track and Field Championships on Friday. Her best throw of 204' 02", which came on her first attempt, earned the Gauchos a point in the team competition.

Haapanen, the UCSB and Big West record-holder in the event, fell two feet short of seventh-place finisher Veronica Jatsek of Ohio State. The winner of the event was Georgia senior Jenny Dahlgren, who threw 232' 00" on her final attempt, bumping Brittany Riley of Southern Illinois into second.

With her finish, Haapanen earned All-American honors in the hammer throw. She also brought the Gauchos' team point total up to five for the meet.