GULF SHORES, Ala. – McKenzie Clark ended up just short of qualifying for the final round in the javelin throw at the NAIA Outdoor National Championship, reaching a mark of 39.13 m (128'4), good for an 11^th place finish. The top nine throws advanced to the finals.

"She did a lot of things really well," assistant coach Alan Cress said. "She just didn't get the big throw."

The meet will wrap up the season for Clark, who completed one of the most successful freshman seasons in Argo history. The freshman from Fort Benton, Mont. was the top javelin thrower in the Frontier Conference, and was named All-Conference yesterday.

"Our meets that we had this year, the closest competition she had was 20 feet from her," Cress said. "She comes down here to the biggest meet of the year and everyone is within 10 feet of each other. The warmups are different, the temperature is different – everything is different than what we've done this year. She was the number one freshman performer coming in and she got to compete at the National Championship. It was a great experience to have to tackle those things during her freshman year."

Cress hopes that Clark uses this experience as motivation to return next year and perform even better.

"The upside potential that McKenzie has is just unreal," he said. "It's great getting that experience this year because she has so many positive things going forward. She will be back and she'll be near the top. She now knows what it's going to take. She has a feel for the competition and how it works and she'll add that to her prep work next season."