BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The bright lights of the NCAA West First Round meet didn’t bother Ashley Carroll. The Grizzly sophomore javelin thrower had the second-best throw of her career Thursday afternoon to finish in 31st place.
Carroll started her Grizzly career as a walk-on and has quickly risen the ranks. She placed fourth in the Big Sky as a freshman in a surprise performance. It led to expectations as a sophomore that she rose above to a runner-up finish in Sacramento two weeks ago.
The Shepherd product has been very consistent this season, winning two meets for Montana and throwing further than 140 feet in each of the last six meets. She recorded her season best throw of 152 feet, 7 inches at the Bengal Invitational, and nearly matched it in Texas.
Carroll opened with a throw of 133-5 inches but went up from there. Her second throw would prove to be her best at 147-10 to place third in her flight and 31st overall.
“Great performance today by Ashley,” head coach Doug Fraley said. “She hit the second-best throw of her career and outperformed her seed by a mile.”
She entered the meet ranked 44th in the West Region but was able to drastically outperform her ranking. Carroll was one of four Big Sky Conference athletes that reached the regional meet and finished higher than the other three league foes.
Irene Jepkemboi of TCU won the meet with a throw of 191-6. Sara Sanders of Oregon State secured the final spot at the NCAA Championship by finishing in 12th with a throw of 171-2.
Montana will have a day off Friday before Whitefish's Erin Wilde wraps things up for the season with the women’s high jump Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
