SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Former Indiana State weight thrower Felisha Johnson saved her best throw for last and finished second in the women's shot put at the 2014 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships Wednesday on the grounds of the state capital. Another Sycamore, Mary Theisen, finished ninth.
American record holder Michelle Carter defended her title in the event and has captured three of the last four national crowns outdoors. The Ovilla, Texas, native swept both the indoor and outdoor national titles in 2013 and has repeated that feat in 2014. Carter tossed an American record 20.24m/66-5 in Des Moines last year.
Carter won the 2014 title with a distance of 19.45m /63-9¾) on her fourth attempt in the finals Wednesday.
Johnson finished sixth in the qualifying round and moved into second in the fourth round of the finals before solidifying her finish with a career best distance of 19.18m (62-11¼) on her final attempt.
Theisen was 11th after the morning qualifying round and finished ninth with a distance of 16.43m (53-11).
Theisen won the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference shot put title and placed third at the NCAA East Preliminary before earning First Team All-American status with a sixth place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Johnson is the school record holder in the shot put and also an All-American in the event.
The 2014 USA Track & Field Outdoor National Championships opened Wednesday with six athletes with ties to Indiana State University scheduled to compete during the five-day event.
Former Sycamore Erica Moore will be competing in the 800 meters and current Sycamore Katie Wise in the 100 meters on Friday while former Sycamore Kylie Hutson looks for her second USATF women's pole vault title on Friday. Recent Indiana State graduate Max Tuttle will also be competing on Friday in the opening round of the men's 400 meter hurdles.
Wise and Tuttle were also members of the 2014 Sycamore team and each advanced to compete in the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Wise, the MVC 100 and 200 meter champion, competed in the 100 meters at the NCAAs while Tuttle, the runner-up in the 400 meter hurdles at the MVC, also competed in that event at the NCAAs.
Hutson and Moore are two experienced track & field professional athletes and both earned All-American honors during their competitive days at Indiana State. Hutson was a four-time NCAA pole vault champion and won the USATF title in 2011 and finished second in 2013. Moore ran to a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2012.
USATF Outdoor Championships
