Fresh off a national championship with the Texas A&M track and field team, senior javelin thrower Sam Humphreys is once again on his way to compete for another title.
Humphreys broke his own school record in the javelin and finished second in the USATF Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, last weekend earning him a spot in the World Championships that will take place this August in Moscow.
Humphreys threw a career best 272-9 in the fourth round was four feet farther than his own school record of 268-8 and gives him the No. 10 spot all-time among Americans. His trip to Russia will be his first international team competition.
“I thought my throws were pretty good,” Humphreys said. “Especially throwing a new [personal record], you can’t be upset about that. I wasn’t expecting to throw as far as I did. The champion threw a bomb and the competition was great.”
Humphreys’ throw was classified as a B standard, a performance he is all too familiar with. Last summer he was the Olympic Trials winner but missed the A standard mark, missing the London Olympics by five inches.
It was an experience that A&M coach Pat Henry said shows a lot about Humphreys’ work ethics and composure.
“For Sam Humphreys this is a tremendous accomplishment,” Henry said. “Being the Olympics Trials winner last year, but missing the A standard to compete in the Olympics by just five inches, makes earning a trip to the World Championships an even bigger accomplishment. Sam is a young thrower, who sees his future in the sport, and didn’t let missing an Olympic Games affect his next four years. I look for Sam to even have greater accomplishments in the sport.”
Former North Dakota State athlete Riley Dolezal won the event with a 273-11 throw.
Humphreys had wasn’t the only Aggie athlete competing in the event. Sophomore Devin Bogert finished 13th in the javelin.
Senior Ameer Webb finished fifth in the 200-meter with a career best time of 20 minutes and 20 seconds. Webb was the NCAA Champion indoors and outdoors this year and finished behind Olympian Tyson Gay, who won the event with a time of 19.74.
A&M sophomore Kamaria Brown missed a chance of traveling to the World Championships by one-hundredth of a second in the 200. Her time of 22.16 placed her fourth just behind Jeneba Tarmoh, Class of 2012, whose time of 22.15 was enough to receive an invite.
Brown recorded the fastest time ever by a female Aggie sprinter and a new personal best.
“It was a great experience,” Brown said. “I feel blessed to have made the final and run against some great ladies. I lost by one-hundredth of a second of making the team, so hopefully my time will come. I’m very happy with my time, it was a great race to be in and I’m very happy with a [personal record] racing against a great field. It shows me how well I’m doing against this caliber of athletes.”