Baker, Richardson, Earn First All-Americas

EUGENE -- Juniors Blaine Baker and Sean Richardson each earned their first All-American status, finishing ninth and 11th, respectively, in the javelin for BYU at the NCAA Outdoor Championships during the second day of competition on Thursday.

Baker improved on an 18th-place finish at last year's national meet, throwing a top mark of 69.21 meters, becoming BYU's first 2010 outdoor All-American and the second of the year after Leif Arrhenius' award in the indoor discus competition.

The junior finished just above fellow teammates Sean Richardson, who finished 11th with a throw of 68.15 meters, and Chris Reno, 17th at 63.88 meters.

"We're proud of Blaine," said BYU men's track and field head coach Mark Robison. "He could've taken fourth or fifth even but just fouled on his final throw. Sean competed well as well."

Junior Chris Little also competed for the men's team in the pole vault and cleared the first height before the meet officials deemed they had measured the height incorrectly. After re-adjusting the bar and adding a delay to the already rainy weather still prevalent from Wednesday's competition, Little failed to clear the new height.

Senior Mindy McClurkin competed for the first time, running in the preliminaries of the 200 meters. McClurkin finished in 24.04, good for 19th but not high enough to go on to Saturday's finals. The senior will compete in her best and final event as a Cougar on Saturday in the women's long jump.