Tia Hart concludes national championship experience in javelin

Tia Hart concludes national championship experience in javelin


GENEVA, Ohio -- Texas Lutheran junior Darren Jones (Waller/Waller) will race for a national title in the men's 200 meters after qualifying seventh in the Thursday preliminary rounds at the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

At the SPIRE Institute, Jones posted a time of 21.59 seconds in the second heat. He will race from lane 9 in Saturday's championship final. The final is set for a 2:50 p.m. eastern / 1:50 p.m. central start.

Tia Hart (Edna/Industrial) competed in the women's javelin and finished 21st overall. Hart posted a top throw of 117 feet, 2 inches.

As a true freshman, Hart won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference javelin championship and set a new school record in the event. That old school record had stood since 1982. Hart's new school record is 134-11.

Jones raced in the fastest of the three heats on Thursday. He was fourth in the heat but still qualified for the final. 

Top qualifier Corey Carter of Principia won heat two with a time of 21.04. Heat two also produced three other finalists: Jones, Devan Ward of John Carroll (4th overall qualifier, 21.41), and Tyler O'Bryant of Oneonta (6th overall qualifier, 21.53).

Jones also raced Thursday with TLU's 4x100 relay team. The Bulldogs finished as the 10th-fastest qualifier out of 16 teams. The top nine make the national championship final.

TLU crossed the finish line in 41.45 and missed Saturday's final by .05. 

The Bulldogs' relay team was made up of Paris Foster (Magnolia/Magnolia), Connor Thompson (Nederland/Nederland), Tyler Dykes (Iola/Iola), and Jones.

Student-athletes scheduled to compete for TLU on Friday at the national championships are: Garrett Garza (men's shot put finals), Foster (men's 110 hurdles prelims), Thompson (men's 400 prelims), Ashley Myers (women's 100 prelims), Jones (men's 100 prelims), Foster (men's 100 prelims), and Ashley Rynard (women's 800 prelims).