Ruzevic Heads to NCAA Track and Field Championships
Jun 8, 2011 | Track & Field
June 8, 2011
Live Stats | Heat Sheets | Webcast
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane track and field program will send just one student-athlete to the NCAA National Meet this weekend in Des Moines, Iowa, but Ana Ruzevic will look to improve on her ninth place finish from a year ago in the javelin on Thursday, June 9. The Drake Stadium complex will host the top track and field athletes in the nation, with Ruzevic entering the event as the 11th seeded thrower.
Entering the NCAA Championships, Ruzevic has tossed the javelin 19 times in four competitions this season and only two of those tossed haven't cleared the 46-meter mark. The junior has claimed three individual crowns this season, winning the Tulane Team Challenge (3/9), the LSU Relays (3/25) and the Conference USA Outdoor Championships (5/14). Over the past two seasons, Ruzevic has won seven individual crowns with the Green Wave and last summer won the Croatian National Championship.
Last season, Ruzevic posted a pair of season-best throws to open the 2010 NCAA Championships, grabbing throws of 48.68-meters and 49.50-meters. The sophomore was in fifth place entering the finals of the event and her toss stood up as the fifth best toss until a pair of competitors passed her in the fourth round and in the final toss of the day, Ohio State's Maggie Mullen moved ahead of Ruzevic to push her into ninth place overall.
Ruzevic becomes just the fourth Tulane student-athlete to advance to the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons. The last Green Wave to accomplish the feat was Gloria Asumnu, who went to four straight NCAA National Meets from 2005-08, while Jelena Jurlina went to back-to-back national meets as a javelin thrower in 2003-04. Hanne Lyngstad advanced to three straight national competitions from 1998-2000.
The NCAA will provide free live video of selected events throughout the championships, while live results can be found at the Championship Central Page at www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com.
--TulaneGreenWave.com--
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