By: by Scott Lipsky
Full USATF Junior National Coverage
DES MOINES, Iowa- Kennesaw State thrower Suzee Mills will try and build on her impressive freshman campaign this week when she competes in the Discus and Hammer Throw events at the US Junior Nationals on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, beginning on Thursday.
Mills, who is a native of Hoschton, Ga., qualified for the prestigious meet by way of hitting qualifying marks in both events. Her 45.85 meter discus throw, which won her the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Championship in the event, surpassed the 45.50 meter standard necessary to compete at Junior Nationals. She qualified for the Hammer Throw a week earlier, passing the 48.00 meters necessary to qualify at the Georgia Invitational in Athens, Ga., with a throw of 48.45 meters. All qualifiers must meet the standard marks set in each event, as there is no minimum or maximum number of participants in each event.
“I’m really excited to go out there and compete with some of the best throwers in country,” said Mills, whose championship throw in the discus set a new Kennesaw State program record. “I am going to do continue to do what I have done all season long, and put a little extra into everything, and hopefully it will result in a great outcome.”
Kennesaw State throws coach Jason Carruthers is also very excited for Mills and has spent the last few weeks concentrating on getting her to throw at an even high level than she has during her successful freshman year.
“Suzee has been training really hard all season, and these past few weeks have been no exception,” said Carruthers. “If she can put together some of the quality throws that we’ve seen from her in practice then we’ll be really happy with her performance.”
The US Junior Nationals are open to any competitor who will not turn 20 years of age at any time during 2010. Mills will be representing Kennesaw State this week, should she finish in the top-two in either event, she will go on to represent the United States at the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships, which will be held in Moncton, Canada, July 20-25.
This is the second consecutive year that the Owls will be represented at the US Juniors. Suzzette Van-Lare (Triple Jump) and Jemir Martinez (100 Meters) both competed in the event in 2009, becoming the first Owls to do so.
Mills will compete in the Hammer Throw on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Central Time, and will compete in the Discus Throw on Friday at 1:30 p.m. Central. Live results will be available at usatf.org.
