UPDATED SAT. P.M.: Rose qualifies for World juniors, Schroll places ninth at USATF Championships


alexrosemug

Updated: 6:30 p.m. Saturday

Central Michigan track and field athlete Alex Rose continues to make a name for himself on the national stage.

Rose, a freshman, finished runner up in the junior discus with a career-best toss of 188 feet, eight inches, Thursday at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

"I'm really glad that things worked out this way at junior nationals," Rose said Thursday evening. "I had a lot of great help from my coach and teammates and a lot of good moral support to get me where I'm at now."

The second place finish earns him a berth to the International Association of Athletics Federations World Junior Championships July 19-25 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

"I'm really excited to compete on a global scale," he said. "It will be the biggest meet for me and hopefully it leads to a great career."

Said Willie Randolph, CMU track and field director: "We're pleased at the way he went out there and gave a strong throw. He's a very humble, yet talented, young man and we're very proud of him."

Rose finished 13th in the discus at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 9.

Former CMU high jumper Erika Schroll bounced back from a disappointing performance at NCAA prelims to finish ninth with a jump of 5-10 3/4 on Saturday. She won four Mid-American Conference championships during her time with the Chippewas, including winning titles at the 2010 MAC Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

"Everybody has their bad days, but the things she did today just showed her character," Randolph said. "She could have went home and closed the book on her season, but she went out there and competed to the best of her ability. It speaks volumes on what type of person she is."

Additionally, freshman Tamica Harbour placed 18th (14.69) Thursday in the 100-meter hurdles.

Freshman Renaldo Powell saw his season come to a close on Friday in the juniors competition, finishing 15th in the 400-meter hurdles qualifying round with a time of 55.09.

"They got some great experience and to have them qualify for that level shows a lot of great signs for the future," Randolph said. "With the recruiting class we have coming in, we hope to continue to move Central in the right direction"

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