FRESNO, Calif. -- Maybe you drove past University of Saint Francis junior Adam Longsworth
at the corner of Spring and Lindenwood as he practiced
on the square of cement in the old football practice
field in the wind and rain and snow earlier this spring.Longsworth's dedication and hard work bore fruit on Saturday at the
2007 NAIA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His first attempt in the prelims for the discus sailed 165 feet even and it stood up through the rest of the event to lock up fourth place and secure NAIA outdoor track and field All-American status.It is the second time he earned All-American status this year. He finished fourth in the weight throw in March to earn All-American status in the weight throw.
"Adam really came through with the pressure on," USF head coach Sarah Thrall said. "He was disappointed with his earlier efforts (hammer and shot put) and channeled it into opportunity."
On Friday, Longsworth just missed All-American in the shot put finishing seventh with a best of 54-4. On Thursday, he finished 15th in the hammer with a best of 166-2 missing out on the finals.
Longsworth entered the competition as the No. 9 seed in the shot put (54 feet, 6
3/4 inches), No. 10 in the discus (162-7) and the No. 13
seed in the hammer (171-10 1/2).
This is Longsworth's second trip to the championships. In 2006, Longsworth finished 11th in the discus (155-5) and 13th in the shot put (49-11 3/4). Longsworth is an Elmhurst High School graduate. Longsworth will compete in the hammer today (May 24), the shot put on Friday (May 25) and the discus on Saturday.
Complete results are available at www.naia.cstv.com
-- GO USF --