Washington Huskies javelin thrower Chandler Ault set his fourth personal best in the last two months at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday, finishing his final collegiate season with a flourish.
The Princeton transfer followed a No. 15 finish at last year’s NCAA Championships with a PR of 243-3 in early April, breaking that a few weeks later with a 251-1 at Fresno State. That throw put him at No. 2 in school history, which Ault quickly remedied by throwing a 254-3 at the Pac-12 Championships to win the final Pac-12 title and break the school record.
Ault was seeded No. 3 entering Wednesday’s javelin after a strong throw at Fayetteville’s West regional meet. 2022 national champion Marc Minichello from Georgia, seeded No. 4, jumped out to an early lead with a throw of 264-9 in round two, leaving the rest of the field chasing him.
In round four, Ault threw 250-4 to jump from No. 6 to No. 2, an indication of how far ahead Minichello was. Ault ended up being the only one to get within shouting distance with a record-shattering 260-2 in round five to secure a No. 2 finish and Washington’s first podium place of the year.
Minichello and Ault were the only throwers to go over the 250-foot mark, let alone 260 feet. Miami’s Devoux Deysel rounded out the podium with a throw of 246-6.
In the pole vault, No. 7 seed Max Manson navigated a crowded field to tie for No. 8 and eke out a first team All-American honor. The senior cleared each of the first three bars on his first attempt, but was unable to join the seven men who cleared the 5.52m height in round four. Because Manson had not missed a jump before faltering at the height, he tied with four other jumpers in the same situation to share the final scoring position. The unique circumstances earned Washington one-fifth of a point – eighth place is usually worth one point.
Two other Huskies were named All-America Honorable mentions on Wednesday. Senior hurdler Jonathan Birchman, who dipped under 50 seconds for the first time in a stellar race from the outside lane in Fayetteville, couldn’t replicate that magic from lane 9 in Eugene and finished No. 20 overall in 51.05. Long jumper Prestin Artis, the Pac-12 champion, finished No. 19 with a jump of 24-1 3/4.
Decathlete Jami Schlueter picked up 4,075 points in the first of two days of the event, finishing the day at No. 7. Schlueter kicked things off with a PR in the 100m, running a 10.79 that was good for No. 7 and 908 points.
A No. 12 finish in the long jump (838 points), No. 6 finish in the shot put (763 points), and No. 10 in the high jump (731 points) had him at No. 5 overall. His shot put of 47-9 3/4 was an inch away from his PR, while his high jump of 6-3 1/2 tied a season best. Schlueter struggled in the 400m, finishing No. 17 for 875 points to drop him to seventh on the day.
Washington’s trio of national champion milers were also in action on Wednesday in the preliminary heats of the 1500m. With only two heats of the event, all three Huskies were crammed into the second race, along with a handful of the stronger contenders in the event.
The runners did have the benefit of knowing the pace of the first heat, a relatively quick 3:39. But if the second heat cracked a faster pace, they could open up two extra qualifying spots based on time. So Luke Houser, the 2022 and 2023 champion in the indoor mile, set off at the front of the pack to lead for most of the race.
Houser’s pace proved to be more than enough. 11 of the 12 runners in the second heat finished in under 3:40, beating the 3:39.68 run by Villanova’s Liam Murphy, the fastest qualifier in the first heat. Six runners finished within four tenths of a second in a tight pack, with Nathan Green and Houser qualifying automatically in fourth and fifth place. Joe Waskom decided not to risk a late crash by pushing into the lead group, settling just behind them in 3:37.93 to earn the final time qualifier spot.
That sets up a blazing 1500m final on Friday, where one of the Huskies’ elite trio will look to bring home Washington’s fifth straight title in the mile.
The NCAA Championships continue through Saturday. Thursday’s events include the conclusion of the decathlon and the women’s field events and track prelims. Six Huskies will be in action throughout the day, including the No. 1 ranked pole vault trio of Nastassja Campbell, Amanda Moll, and Hana Moll.
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